In Front of The Wall!

  They tell me this is traditional - to have your photo taken in front of the wall of wool... My FIRST trip (and it won't be my last!) to Knit Happens in Alexandria, Virginia. It was a real push to get there between shows for Nana Sadie Rose but my Big Sis did chauffeur duty while dear SIL and I ran inside to briefly browse...WOW! Think this might be the equivalent to a knitter's trip to Mecca? :) 

See? I DID Go!

  That's the proof! The tell-tale sign!!! :)
That pink & roses shirt is the new "uniform" for Nana Sadie Rose - and my Big Sis's brain-storm. What a wonderful job she did arranging the 3 shows we had this weekend - BIG Thank you's and (((HUGS))) to both of my sisters!  

Knit Happens Stash!

  Three skeins of Koigu in a lovely springy colorway - and I have no idea what to use it for (ideas, anyone?)...and my first skein of Rowan's Kidsilk Haze in Dewberry for Branching Out. 

A Celebration!

Two years ago today I put down my cigarettes for the last time.

Today, 24 months later, I'm still too heavy, I don't exercise as I should, and I've got an additional diagnosis I didn't have when I started this path...nonetheless, quitting smoking was the single best thing I've ever done in my life.

I won't get philosophical here - that's for Nana Sadie's Place - but if you're struggling with this issue, check out The Q. I owe my quit to their 24-7 online support!

Nana Sadie Rose Yahoo Newsletter & NoVA Parties!

  Just a taste of some of the delights you'll see at the NoVA parties next weekend...please be sure to email me if you're going to be in the Alexandria VA area February 24 & 25 and would like to attend? We'll make sure you get an invitation!
And please email me if you'd like an invitation to join the Nana Sadie Rose Yahoo Newsletter Group to stay on top of the latest happenings at Nana Sadie Rose
((((hugs)))) 

A Gorgeous New Website!

Since I know many of you are Nana Sadie Rose's good customers, I wanted to mention here that the entire site has been redesigned with an emphasis on ease of use. I think you'll be pleased. So stop by Nana Sadie Rose and see our new home!

While you're at it, check out our linksharing program? I'd be very interested in discussing links among our blogs...(please check out my lovely new buttons, too - one of them is down below in my sidebar in "sites of my heart!" You'll see more of my DD's fabulous graphic arts work on those buttons! (there are more on the website)

Also, if you're a Nana Sadie Rose bag aficionado, we have a newsletter group on yahoo. Periodically, we'll notify you of new items, fabrics, places Nana Sadie Rose will be visiting. So email me at siameezercat AT yahoo DOT com and I'll send you an invitation to join us. This is especially important if you're a collector of Nana Sadie Rose bags...and you all know who you are! *wink*

Ah what fun...stay tuned...Nana Sadie Rose just keeps having bright ideas!

It's Greek to Me!

 
The Meezer thinks this chart for the Highland Triangle Shawl is a bit confusing, even with my handwritten notes! I caught her trying to decypher it - she's such a Ms. Smarty Pants! 

Highland Triangle Shawl

  From Folk Shawls by Cheryl Oberle. I've finally cast on for the KAL! Here at row 34 of the first repeat (the color is a bit lighter than it shows here) - it's not much, but I simply had to spend a few minutes on the knitting I craved instead of work! 

Creative Writing Meme

Birdsong tagged me for this meme...I'm not a poet, and I'm not sure my creative writing runs in this direction but here is my attempt. The qualities that describe me, beginning with each letter of my name:

S tudent, perpetually, now of lessons in crafts over vocational training.
A ssertive for other's rights, tho' not always for my own.
L ifelong learner as a generalist not a specialist.
L oyal and loving to a fault, long beyond a reasonable stopping point.
E ducator, once upon a lifetime ago.
E xtrovert to some, tho' to seem so is a daily struggle for this introverted me.

I won't tag someone for this one...if you read this and wish to try it, consider yourself tagged?
(((hugs)))

Cloths for Crisis

A few months ago, the nation was stunned by the power and destruction of a Hurricane called Katrina. The Yahoo Groups knitting community began what now can only be described as a herculean effort to knit facecloths to distribute to the survivors of that hurricane and the others that followed in the Season of 2005.

I am awed by the dedication of the members of the Cloths for Katrina group. That so few people could create so many simple cloths is humbling. I know in my heart they were greatly appreciated.

But it's 2006. While things in the Gulf are not back to normal by any stretch of the imagination, the desperate, immediate need has passed. It was getting harder and harder for the owners of the KAL to find shelters to send cloths to, as the victims of the storm relocated or returned to their lives and the shelters closed. And so the owners of Cloths for Katrina decided it was time to poll the group and decide upon the future for it.

That poll has ended. The results of it indicated that the members wanted to continue to make cloths, to provide at some level, either local or national, the same sort of assistance. So a new group has been formed. Cloths for Katrina will cease to exist as of Friday, February 17, 2006. No new members are being accepted at this time.

Please, if you are a member of Cloths for Katrina, make sure you click on the following link or the button over there, and join us in our continued effort to make Cloths For Crisis. If you were not a member of Cloths for Katrina, but would like to join us now, please click on that button over there, and pick up your needles to make cloths! You may distribute them in your local community or at the links available for continued hurricane relief efforts in the Gulf, or you may take a breather and join us when the next hurricane hits (as unfortunately, we all know it will...). If the last is your choice, please consider spending a few moments each month creating a small stash (or large one!) of cloths that you will have available at a moment's notice? So we don't have the lag time to get up and running when the next major crisis hits?

Thank you all, and my very warmest (((hugs)))!

When Do You Find the Time to Knit?

Lynette asked this question the other day, and it got me to thinking...I, too, am constantly amazed by the quality and quantity of what many folks in blog-land knit...I'm a starter...sometimes I even finish! But with all the things I do to keep body and soul alive, it can be stunning to me sometimes that I get much knitting done. Yet I can look down below and see that I do...

My day is pretty much the same as everyone else's except that usually when I come home from my day job, I work on my bags...either cutting, sewing, or surfing fabric sites and ordering. At least one weekend a month, I'm working on a client's books, but most weekends are spent sewing...all my downtime from those work activities, tho' involve knitting...

I try to get to work about 15-30 minutes ahead to sit quietly and knit a bit at that point. I also take my lunch to work and knit on my lunch break. I carry knitting with me almost everywhere, so if I have a wait of any length of time, the needles are in my hands, and I will usually knit at night before I go to bed. Some mornings, I can get a few rows of simple stuff (dishcloths, fun fur scarves) done while I'm drinking my coffee and watching the news and weather. But with two businesses and a full-time job, it's a challenge, especially to complete a big project.

Now what I find is interesting is how you all fit in the exercise thingy! I need to learn to knit and walk! But with my vision, someone would probably get hurt. *wink*

Finally Some Knitting Content? You Bet!

It's been awhile, but that doesn't mean that all of my energies are being poured into Nana Sadie Rose - after all, there's KNITTIN' to be done!

So below you can see three photos of some of what else I've been up to. We begin with the grooming cloths (for cats!) that were ordered at the cat show (I'm told these work for Tonkinese, but perhaps not for other cats!) - the order is for 25! Then, not pictured because every photo I took is completely washed out, is the Steeler's Aibhlinn which is now at 13 inches (of the 24 needed) - doesn't matter if you can't see a photo - black and gold is black and gold - Steelers! Whoohoo! Hope I get to wear this to the games next season...

Moving on to lace...lace...lace...you'll see in the middle photo below the Traveling Vines Scarf THIS time made with Wendy's birthday yarn (it's turning out much better than the partially acrylic sock yarn did). And yes, Wendy, I love, love, love Koigu! Thank you, again!

And finally, the Diamond Fantasy Shawl in the top photo. I'm in the middle of the 4th repeat (I've already pulled the first lifeline out, but you can see 3 others there in white). It just amazes me how much I relax when I knit lace - how the focusing on the pattern lets everything else just fall away...

I have the yarn for the Highland Triangle Shawl we're supposed to be knitting in Folkshawls Yahoo Group. But it's not on the needles - yet.

Of course, I'm sewing, too, and working. But I wanted you to know that I haven't stopped knitting! No Way! (((hugs)))

Progress on Diamond Fantasy Shawl!

 
 

Traveling Vines & Wendy's Koigu!

 
 

Dishcloths? Nope - Grooming Cloths!

 
 

Not Doing Olympic Knitting But...

I don't have any other reason to forego the Knitting Olympics my idol started, than that I'm too snowed under with Nana Sadie Rose activities, but I saw this beautifully written very good advice for anyone who knits and said, we'll just have to write a short entry to spread the word around!

Do, if you have any repetitive stress problems, practice these cautionary steps?
(((hugs)))

Rosemary for Remembrance!

YOU ARE ROSEMARY
What herb are you? brought to you by Quizilla
It's also my favorite herb for cooking - love rosemary chicken!

Photos of the Sadie Teacher's Tote

 
The tote is 19 inches wide, 11.5 inches high, & 5 inches deep, with 7 inner pockets. The 2 pockets on the side will hold notepads, spiral notebooks, lesson planners! The center section is plenty large enough to hold a laptop. The shoulder straps drop 14 inches below your shoulders for a comfortable fit... Email me if you'd like me to make one for you! 

Inside of the Sadie Bag

 
Sadie Teacher's Tote inside, unloaded! 

Sadie Teacher's Tote Can Hold a Lot!

 
The Sadie Teacher's Tote - loaded and there's STILL room for more! 

New Bag Design!

In advance of the Nana Sadie Rose parties that will be held February 24-25 in Alexandria, VA, my sister (the hostess) asked me to finish up the design of the Sadie Teacher Bag.

Well...It's HERE! Head on over to my website and take a look. This bag is MUCH bigger than any previous design: a very large 19 inches wide, 11.5 inches tall, and 5 inches deep, with an extra long loop closure so the bag can accomodate binders, books, papers to grade - even a laptop - in the large center section. There are two staggered pockets that will hold file folders, spiral notebooks or lesson planners, then two sizes of 4 smaller pockets around the bag for smaller books or supplies and sundries. The shoulder straps drop 14 inches below your shoulder.

The sample bag on Nana Sadie Rose is done in a cute school fabric, but remember, YOU DECIDE on the outside fabric of your bag, as this bag is only available by custom order. You just might prefer a solid colored bag, with the cool print on the inside! If you're an urban professional, you might prefer a black, brown, navy or olive bag - that is certainly an available option...Just let me know.

As with any bag on the site during the month of February, if you choose a heart-themed fabric 5% of the retail price will be donated to WomenHeart to further their efforts of education, advocacy, and support for women with heart disease.

So let me know what you think of the Sadie Teacher Bag? (If you'd like to attend one of the Nana Sadie Rose parties, please email me for an invitation? We'd love to have you!)

(((hugs)))