Ice, Ice, Baby...
Songs, Sips, and Charts and Stripes Forever.
Name that Tune
We rolled down the mountain, from the extreme northwest corner of North Carolina, toward the Piedmont on Wednesday, eager to get back before the onslaught of whatever version of smowmageddon was slated to wallop us. As I sit here now on Sunday, the morning having slid away without incident attributable to weather, I can’t help but think about that old tune… “Ice Ice Baby…” by none other than Vanilla Ice.
It’s a thing in our household - throwing out a line from a song, or a song title, in response to something said, or some situation at hand. Naturally, when Vanilla Ice’s famous (infamous) tune came to mind, I hit the Google to see if Mr. Ice himself was a knitter. Turns out, there is no evidence he’s a knitter BUT I did come across this gem…
This special thang is available on Ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/256951355455. I was able to zoom in just enough to see it looks as though it may have been double knit. I’m fairly certain it’s machine made, judging by the stars along the join between sleeve and shoulder, and the seam visible when you zoom in on the front view. It’s selling for $150 if you want it…. No judgement here!
Another Kind of Vintage
We are nearly done with the studio cabin finishing touches, but we did find ourselves in need of some furnishings. Specifically, we needed chairs to go around the 150-year-old table Sheri’s great-grandfather built (with some input from her grandfather, we’re told). In keeping with our carefully constructed curation plan for the cabin, we hunted on Facebook Marketplace for just the right chairs. We had in mind midcentury, but something a bit more relaxed and welcoming. We found just the thing - four midcentury walnut chairs we just had to see!
The chairs were in Elkin - just over an hour from the studio cabin. We arranged to go meet the seller, and headed out. What started as chair mission soon turned into an adventure. We arrived at the address given and found the location was a wine bar and restaurant that had been fairly recently closed. Soon the owner arrived and let us into the building. The chairs were, of course, incredible, but so was the conversation. As it turns out, the owner’s husband is a sommelier AND a cicerone - the beer world’s equivalent. When Sheri heard this, she grabbed the owner and hugged her! To say that was exciting to Sheri was an understatement! A spontaneous round of brainstorming ensued. We’re keeping in touch with the owner - and we look forward to meeting her husband. We hope to put together some fun programming around sipping - and stitching! Raise your hand if you’re in…
Charts and Stripes
I made a vow recently to return to several designs I’d set aside during our remodel. Among them is the Emory Valley Beanie. It’s a colorwork project I named after the very midcentury neighborhood my grandparents called home in Tennessee. I dug back into the chart for the pattern, and wrestled it into submission. More accurately, I got out of my own way. I am looking forward to getting it done so I can publish it! It’s a worsted weight number in two colors. Knit brim to crown, and the color work is just fun.
I’ve also been working my way through one of the sleeves on the relaxed V-neck cardigan I’ve written. I am honestly in love with cardigans these days. So convenient. So versatile. So wearable! Once that one’s done I’ll get that all set to publish as well. this cardigan will be part of our Basic Elements lineup, available on our website. The idea behind these patterns is that you can make them your own! They’re like blank canvases, waiting for your personal touches.
After a minute of slow designing, I’m so happy to be back at it again. There’s something really freeing about it. If you knit our patterns, or any I have on Ravelry, I hope you’ll share pics! I’d love to see!
Oh - and as I write this, I have to tell you Sheri is working on her second bulky cowl…for me! I’ll share that with you once it’s done. She is doing a great job!
Alright! One more thing…
I’m moving publication date to every other Tuesday from here on. Just wanted to give you fair warning! So, the next issue will come out two weeks from tomorrow.
Thanks for hanging out!