Way to Go 2010!

So, the year has just started and already, 2 wildly different kick butt pieces of news to share.

First - I'm lucky enough to say I have some seriously talented, hard working friends. On the 28th of December at 2pm a cast of 9 singers, 8 band members, a director, stage manager, costume designer, sound designer and a 3 person crew got together to put on a show at the Fireside Dinner Theatre in Fort Atkinson, WI. The show was conceived by our Director, Ed Flesch, who was also a member of the cast. This would usually seem like a normal task for all of us but here's the kicker... the show went up on New Years Eve. That's 2.5 days to put on a full 2 Act 2.5 hour show in a 700 seat theatre.

I don't know how - but we did it! And... it was actually pretty fantastic. Only a few little word flubs here and there, but I can say without a doubt both of our full houses had a great time, and so did we. Here's a few pics from the crazy day.

Here's few members of the cast right before the show.

I sang Goldfinger and got to wear some AMAZING shoes.

My fiance John Dominguez who also played bass in the show!

And - my second bit of news...

So - I wake up this morning, clearly EXHAUSTED. We get ready and head to spend a nice day off with JD's family. On the way to their house we stop to look for a book for his mom. She's also an avid knitter and has been wanted to knit a top down raglan sweater for his dad. I found a book that looked just right called Knit on Down. It has several patterns that are mostly seamless and mostly knit from the top down. Done and done. As we head to the register, I tell JD I want to stop by the magazine section.

SIDE NOTE - A few weeks ago, after announcing to my Molly Made Facebook group that my Doggie Shrug pattern is now available at www.redheart.com, Drew Emborsky (aka The Crochet Dude) mentioned there was a Doggie Shrug used as a full page add in the Jan/Feb issue of Crochet Today. I honestly thought he was mistaken. I was a little sad and thought someone else must have written a Doggie Shrug pattern. I often buy this crocheting magazine, but I don't subscribe because I spend so much time on the road doing shows. It's hard to have magazines forwarded all over the country. I've looked for it in several shops, but had yet to find the Jan/Feb edition.

So, we stopped by the craft/hobbie magazine section of this Barnes and Noble in Milwaukee. I gave JD one copy and I took one copy. I started slowly page by page, he quickly leafed through and... BAM! There's a giant pic of my Doggie Shrug on the inside of the back cover! I seriously freaked out!! I screamed and jumped up and down. I have got to be the biggest dork in the world!

It's an add for Red Heart Yarn which is a great tried and true brand you can get mostly anywhere. My name isn't even listed by the picture - but I could care less! I'm seriously so honored and excited to see that they are using something I created. I also have a pattern for Flower Petal Leg Warmers available on their website and I have a secret pattern coming out on another website... so I know this is just the beginning. I do wonder if, some day, seeing my piece in a mag will be old hat, but I will never forget how unbelievably excited I was to see my first piece in print. Knowing it is in book stores and yarn shops all over the country, sends me over the moon.

I had JD take some pictures of me with the magazine before I bought a few copies. I do think it is really hilarious to compare the pic of me in my Goldfinger costume to the pic of me in my tragic day after the show get up. (I love this giant knit Anthropologie sweater.) Oh the "glamorous" life of an actress with an addiction to yarn.

I can't believe it took so long to find! Maybe I was meant to find it today as a way to kick off the new year.

Kids Krochet

As you'd imagine, there are kids that travel with us on the Chitty tour.  One of the girls, Aly Brier, has been interested in crocheting since day one.  I love kids, and I have worked with a few that I still keep in touch with. Aly will definitely be on the top of that list.  AND... as of last Saturday, she officially Crochets!

   Her birthday is coming up, so I decided I wanted to take her out on a special Birthday date, and finally teach her to crochet.  We had so much fun, and she seriously has a knack for working with yarn. She picked it up so well and really seemed to love it.  We already have a date planned to go to a shop in NYC so she can get yarn to make an AFGAN as a gift for a family member. How great is that?  

   Here are a few pics from our date at Johnny Rockets in Denver.

Watch her go!  I also love that her hair is in braids so it can go under her wig.

She had never had a ROOT BEER FLOAT!  She loved it : )

Great day!

Salty Highlights

Here's a few of the Highlights from Salt Lake....

I found several great Vintage Clothing/Antiques Shops. 

This pic is from a shop called Retro Rose.  It's located at 207 E Broadway.  Everything in the shop was organized by color which I loved.  Loads and loads of antiques painted all over the shop.

  I also went to a new Vintage Clothing store called Misc. (pronounced Missy) which is attached to a Vintage Mondern Furniture store called The Green Ant.  I had such a great talk with Missy about how she opened her shop and owning her own business. It is so clear that having a great personality really gets you a long way as a business owner.  I highly recommend her shop.  She has some truly great finds ( including several great vintage bathing suits). 

The last shop I went to was Jitter Bug Antiques & Collectables.  This small packed shop proved lucky for me.  Not only did I find loads of Vintage Clip on Earrings to use for my new vintage/felted jewelry, I also found an authentic Chitty Chitty Bang Bang replica! It's missing Potts and the Kids, but Truly Scrumptious is there waving in all her glory.  

This and the next few pictures are sights I saw as I strolled through Downtown on my last day in Salt Lake City. So beautiful!

This Violin Making School was a definite gem. The shop windows were filled with half finished Violins. I felt like I was on one of Mr. Rogers' field trips. No one was there, but it was clearly so full of life.   

Thanks Salt Lake City for a great week! Now... on to Tempe. 

I. AM. BACK.

I had a wonderful 3 week lay-off.  I spent the first week in California, the second in NYC and the third in the Caribbean.  Not too shabby.  We re-opened the show in Albuquerque and we are now back in the swing of things with 2 new cast members in Salt Lake City.  I'm making a commitment to post more often and I have lots and lots to share.   Here's a few highlights from the vaca.

CAN YOU HANDLE THIS FACE!!!!!  Little Lucia is the beautiful daughter of two of my very dear friends, Melissa and Ozzy.  I can not handle how cute she is, and I'm so glad I was able to see her in California.

PROJECT BRIDEWAY! My beautiful sister (the tall blonde) is getting MARRIED!  Super fun Shower.

Of course, I had to sport some "Molly Made" items on the cruise. I made this flower headband with my sis in mind. I hope to start a white bride inspired line. BUT.... my man said it looks like an egg... so now, all I can think is EGG HEAD when I see this picture.  Thanks mister.

I made these earwarming headbands for Marvin (on the left) and Richard (not pictured). I also made one for Skip's lady Tara. But I know Skip really wanted the flowered headband for himself.

On the Road

It's been too long since I've visited my blog.  I was super excited yesterday, because I thought I figured out how to post a blog from my phone!  As it turns out - it didn't work. wa wahhh - oh well, this is the post I intended to make yesterday : )

  The show is now on a much needed break. We've had this three week lay-off scheduled since the begining of our contract.  Although, the idea unemployment is not

 fantastic.... 3 weeks without tights, pin curls, wigs, fake eyelashes, or heels is MAGICAL!
  We're starting our vaca by driving from Kentucky to

 California.  Yesterday, we drove about 10 hours. I crocheted another little
pre-wedding gifty for my sis...

 and... a Rasta hat for my sis's dog!  She and her fiance asked for one... I think it looks more like a chef hat, but, hopefully once Tanks little beagle head is under it, we'll all be singing songs of freedom.
  Last night, we had dinner at a lovely Waffle House and stayed at a glamourous Motel 6.  In the morning we found a Starbucks in an Oklahoma City Mall.  It was at that Starbucks when I heard my favorite road trip quote so far.

 Elderly Oklahomian: I'll have a... a... grande... a whaddya call it... le-TAH?
 His son: NO! It's a le-TAY! Uh... I mean LA-tay

  Bless the Oklahoma latte men! They made me smile.

In my mind I'm going to Carolina

     This week, the tour took us to Raleigh, North Carolina.  The whole week was filled with loveliness.  Dirk Lumbard, a friend in the cast had us over to his house in the country.  He and his partner, Andy Ferrell have the most elegant, beautiful home!  I've included a few pictures which, really, just don't even begin to do it justice.  We spent the day on porch swings, in rocking chairs, and ate a perfect home cooked meal.  It's so strange how much we miss the simple things, like having a kitchen.

    I also was able to make it to a shop I'd been looking forward to checking out called Panopolie.  I don't think I've ever seen a shop like it.  Half of the shop was a normal bead store, but the rest of the shop and so many specialty craft items.  Scrapbook items, little glass window boxes, loads of roving, metal working materials, watch parts, charms, vintage watch clasps, keys, and loads and loads of charms.  They offer classes and were very helpful.  The gal behind the counter's name was Mollie.  She was super sweet and said she might come to the show.

   I have roving with me on the road, and I've felted a bit, but the roving I bought here inspired me to make these little felted flower headbands.  They've made me so happy.  I've started posted them on Etsy and I'll be sure to post more soon.

    We head to Philadelphia on Monday.  I'm sure it will be great, but I'm seriously not looking forward to leaving the 70 degree weather or the Southern hospitality we've enjoyed in Raleigh.   

Boston

We were scheduled to take a bus from Dayton, Ohio to Hunstville, Alabama. The day before our trip, I convinced three of the girls on tour to go in on a rental car so that we could drive ourselves to Alabama.  I must've had some sort of psychic premonition because the bus BROKE DOWN! Boy, were we lucky!   The poor group was stuck at a gas station for three hours.  We, on the other hand, slept in and had a fantastic southern meal at The Loveless Cafe just outside of Nashville and arrived in Alabama around the same time as the rest of the company.  Crazy!

    I was unable to keep the car for the rest of the week. So, a yarn shop was out of the question. I did manage to take a cab to an Anthropologie at a nearby mall, but that's a whole 'nother addiction. 

    A week later we flew from Hunstville to Boston.  I can't tell you how great it was to hear loud buses on dirty streets.  And... there was a great shop only a few blocks from our hotel!  Windsor Button had a large varied selection of yarn, a HUGE book selection, and an even BIGGER selection of notions and needles.  I bought several skeins ( ahhhh) but my most favorite is definitely the Brown Sheep Burly Spun.  I made a cowl (at the top of the page) the next day and I still have over half of the skein left!  I was generally happy with the selection at this shop, but it didn't have the warmth of other yarn shops I've visited.  It felt more like a large chain store that happened to have high end yarn in addition to more generic brands.  The woman was very helpful, but also very cold. I guess I'm just used to the warm and fuzzy feeling that comes along with a local shop.  

    

    In addition to the yarn I purchased I also bought a book I had been looking for called "The Sweater Workshop."  I'm still a new knitter and while I can read all sorts of crocheting patterns, so I think this will the perfect trick for getting me into sweater making.  If I find the time and the patience.   

  

    It's been a few weeks since we were in Boston, and I recently came across a blog and podcast called It's a Purl, Man. It is filled with great info on knitting/wooly goodness in the Boston area and wooly goodness in general.   From what I've read on his blog I am most sad that I missed the Boston Handmade Downtown.  According to their map, I must've passed it on my way to Windsor Button! Boo! I love supporting other artists.   Oh well... at least I know it's there for the next time I'm in Boston.

   The next stop on our tour is San Antonio! I'm sure I will be very happy with the warm weather and the RIVER WALK, but I've yet to find a yarn shop near my hotel.

    Happy Crafting

The life of a Gypsy - Appleton, Toronto, Baltimore

So... as I mentioned... I'm on tour with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.  It's a great group of people a fun show to be a part of.. and a really cool flying car.  What more could a gal ask for?  I'll tell you - really great yarn stores all over North America!  I'm slightly limited cause I don't have a car... but I do have two rather long legs, so I'm making it a mission to see as many yarn stores as I can.  So far... I've been to three that I absolutely loved!  

    First - Iris Fine Yarns in Appleton Wisconsin.  www.irisfineyarns.com  Seriously LOVELY!  I failed to really pay attention to the map I had and ended up walking about 45 min in the wrong direction in a snow storm.  I ended up calling the hotel shuttle to get me cause I was frozen... IT WAS SO WORTH IT.  The owner was so helpful and she had the greatest method of organizing yarns.  First of all... it was packed with yarn, patterns, needles, hooks, felting items, loads of beautiful samples, and even a sale section.  A lot of times when I visit yarns stores with a selection like this the skeins literally fall off the shelves. However her husband came up with a great method.  The walls were covered with wide open shelves.  In each of the shelves was a wooden plank (basically a drawer with no sides) with 2 rows of long pegs.  The skeins of yarn were stuck through the large pegs so that you could pull out the "drawer" without loosing any yarn.  What a great way to keep the store organized!    I bought a pair of giant (size 17) Lantern Moon needles - that I love - and a few skeins of yarn. Some of which she swatched for me while I looked so that I could see if I'd really like it.  The broach I made for my Grandma (that is pictured in my last post) is one little project I made with that yarn.  I should also mention that there is a HUGE selection of books and patterns in the back that I unfortunately didn't have time to dig into.  I highly recommend this shop. 

   SECOND... Romni Wool in Toronto, Canada.  www.Romniwools.com I MEAN COME ON!!!! This is, hands down, the largest selection of yarn I have EVER seen.  Seriously.  It was about a half hour walk to get to this spot... it was FREEZING and I went twice. I would have been three times but they were closed on Sunday.    This shot that I've added is just of one part of the top floor.  There is also a large sale section downstairs.  Now, when I say large, I mean large.  The first time I explored the sale section I ended up missing half of it because I didn't realize what a maze it was.   I have a huge list of yarns that I purchased here.  I'm at a coffee shop in Baltimore now so I'll have to update the list later,  but off the top of my head I picked up... 

     Debbie Bliss Como  - in black and white (which I made into a neck/earwarmer for my dad)

     Trendsetter Bolero - in Ocean Water (which I made into two headband/neckwarmers - one of which I wear almost everyday... the other should be arriving at my friend Ashley's house in the next few days)

      Trendsetter Bolero - in another pink/orange colorway that was on sale... must be discontinued.  (it's now more neckwarmers that I plan on selling)

      Trendsetter Venus - in Blue Lagoon - which I was so in love with... but kind of dissapointed as I started using it.  I knit a very loose scarf, and as I went through the skein I kept coming up on KNOTS.  Why do they do that?? It was rather pricey and so many beautiful textures, but I might as well have bought several different skeins for the scarf. At least that way I could have woven in the ends.  Now I have all of these little bumps each time the color changes. Grrr... but I made it for myself, so it doesn't really matter.

     OK - so that's a small start to the list of great things I found at Romni Wools.  I should also mention that I stopped at Americo Originals on my way to Romni.  It was a nice sized shop with lots of beautiful very natural looking yarn.  www.americo.ca  They were all very helpful, but I didn't end up picking up anything at this shop.

    THIRD - The most recent shop I hit up is in Baltimore, Maryland.  It's called A Good Yarn.  www.agoodyarn.com.  In researching this shop I found several warnings... VERY SMALL SHOP! MOSTLY A TEACHING SPOT!  But, of course, I managed to do some damage.  Lorraine, who owns the shop was so helpful.  I do need to mention that this is not a shop geared to crocheters, BUT I brought my friend Trey with me to pick out yarn for a crocheted afghan, and Lorraine was more than happy to help us even though she admitted she does not crochet, nor does she want to learn : ). hahaha.  I am doing my best to convince the yarn crafters of the world to do both... but I'm still often hit with resistance on both sides.  I think there were maybe 5 or 6 brands of yarn in the shop... mostly wool.  One of my favorite finds was a section of brandless natural undyed handspun yarn from a farm in Bemidji, MN.  It was very reasonably priced and I got several skeins so I could embark on a felting experiment.  I felted my first bag but it didn't turn out exactly as I had hoped.  I think the hooks I used were too large - AND - I didn't think about the fact that different stitches would felt differently.  Duh.  (I did attach a needle felted try I had made in December, so that made me happy)  This shop has "help session" all day on Friday, so I might stop by this week with a list of questions.  I'm still fairly new to Knitting... and while I have help from the most fancy knitter I know, Liz (who is amazing and plays the Baronness), it'd be cool to get lots of little questions answered.      

    YEOWSA!  THIS IS THE LONGEST POST EVER.  Now, at least, I'm caught up.  I'll try and update more frequently to avoid psychotically long posts.   My next stop is Dayton, Ohio.  From what I can tell a shop called "The Yarn and Needle" is really close to my hotel.  I'm a little worried that they aren't listed on www.knitmap.com (which is my usual go-to for finding yarn around the world) but maybe I'll have to add them once I check it out.  

    

     I'd love suggestions for Yarn in Dayton, Ohio.   

 

       HAPPY CRAFTING