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— Rachel Carter

So, when we stalked the knitters from Duke Gardens to Bull City Fiber Loft, we had a tad bit of a problem, We thought we knew the shops on Ninth Street, but we went up and down the street three times before Wimi gently suggested "It's a loft -- look up:
. And indeed, right above the Bean Traders Coffee shop was the Bull City Fiber Market. Brilliant, that Wimi.
Inside, we found a few knitters. We'll start with the most famous of them.

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Wimi & I set out yesterday to find some kippers in action for WWKIP Day. I don't know what I was thinking really -- that I'd go out & find the Triangle lousy with knitters, knitting on every corner. I know there were knitters out there -- I just missed a few groups. I did find an excellent group of knitters at the so-new-it's-not-even-really-open Bull City Fiber Loft on Ninth Street in Durham. Wimi found a friend, as you can see, so we didn't really get to go anywhere else. But we found plenty at BCFL, which we'll tell you all about just as soon as we get back -- we're heading to Durham again, so Wimi can see her beau (his biggest asset, from her view, is that he's easily manipulated).
Meanwhile, if you have picture of kippers in action, post them at share.triangle.com -- & if your group has a name, be sure to include it.
Later, gator.

On Saturday morning, the Apex Arts Council will sponsor "Art Along the Trail: A Celebration of Arts in the Outdoors." Artists will have booths set up along White Oak Church Trailhead on the American Tobacco Trail. You can buy art from the vendors, so plan your biking/ horseback riding / hiking accordingly (can you really balance that canvas on your handlebars?) Get out early, buy art, get some exercise -- all good. If I can get Wimi out of bed (she does love her beauty sleep), we'll be there.

We've recently moved to a new home -- well, new to us. It's a solid structure built 35 years ago. It needs no structural work -- just the things we do to make it a home, which means painting mostly. Of course, this has led us to projects that aren't exactly house projects, but more things we've been meaning to get around to -- like restoring an old dining table that has been molting its varnish for a few years. It needed a facelift. The table was dated at about 75 years old when it was purchased at the antiques show in Hillsville, Virginia, almost 20 years ago. It was adapted from its original use, probably as a baker's table, to a dining table. To make this happen, the owners carved out kneeholes from the low apron around the edge, so folks could actually scoot their chairs under the table. It had something close to its original finish, with some polyurethane applied when it came into our family back in the late '80s. Since then, nothing. It was time for something.

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If you like polymer clay, you will love "Making Polymer Clay Beads" by Carol Blackburn. From rolling and stacking to making faux wood and coral, this book will lead you to shape many styles of beads.Clear illustrations take you through each step.
Don't know a mola from a pompom? The Ultimate A (abutted seam) to Z (zipper -- of course!) Companion to 1001 Needlecraft Terms by Marie Clayton will tell you what's what in needlecraft. Also includes pattern symbols, abbreviation translations and measurement charts.
Minigami by Gay Merill Gross is a compendium of wee origami critters and objects suitable for tacking to cards and packages. Mighty cute stuff -- get a pack of origami paper and you'll be in business for weeks!
As always, send me a comment and I'll send you a book!

The first book on my pile here is the most recent: doublestitch: Designs for the crochet fashionista by erika + monika simmons. This book is sizzlin'! This hot sistah duo has whipped up a collection that's a snap to crochet and comes packed with attitude. Great for summer-wear or, for the daring, year-round.
And to go with? Glamorous Beaded Jewelry by M.T. Ryan. Simple designs with lots of fashion punch -- great illustrations and clear directions lead you to a full wardrobe of bracelets, necklaces, earrings and rings. Beginners can dive right in; more advanced beaders will like the inspiring designs.
Absolute beginners will like the designs in So Easy Beading by Liz Thornton and Jean Power. Spiral binding and a little built-in stand let you prop up the book to follow the clear illustrations. The techniques may be too simple for advanced beaders, but there's plenty of pretty instant gratification here.

ok, OK, OK! I promised to write about books! And I got up early to do just that. But the internet connection was down. So I decided to run a few errands. First, I mailed a small wooly mammoth to Greensboro (my niece left it behind after the wedding last weekend. A better auntie would have mailed it on Monday, like she sort of promised). Then I swung by Shuttles, Needles and Hooks in Cary to buy a present for a friend who read a poem at our wedding.

And here I need to interject a bit of information I have shared with only my closest companions: I have not purchased yarn since January 1. (Did you hear that? It was the collective sound of LYS owners slapping their foreheads simultaneously at the sudden understanding of the sales slump in the first half of the year.) Here's why: I have a lot of yarn. I can knit and crochet and spin and weave with my stash for some time to come. In fact, since October, I've been knitting on the shawl above -- it's the Gorgonian Shawl by Morehouse Farm Merino -- though I have knitted a a thing or two or three or more in between. This shawl is my project for "found" time -- you know, meetings, doctor's offices, books readings, etc. I love everything about it except one thing: It's almost done.

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You may have seen this ring elsewhere. I really can't add a thing to amplify Joe's blog -- it really was all that (though in the frenzy of getting out the door, Wimi was left behind, which we are sure to pay for for years to come). I can tell you things about the rings, though. They were hand-made in Cherry Hill, NJ -- my birthplace (shh, don't tell) -- at Shade Jewelry. We wanted to get our rings in North Carolina, but couldn't find a hand-crafter of titanium -- so my birthplace was the next-best thing! We chose titanium 1. because it's hypoallergenic & I'm allergic to metals and 2. because it's the stuff the really good bikes are made of and 3. because its sturdiness will allow it to withstand outdoor challenges. And how cool is that rainbow thing (in real life, the colors are more earthy, less bright, but a whole lot of fun). Chris the ringmaster can make the rings in varying widths with varying finishes. And did we say? He's a joy to work with. Do note that titanium cannot be resized, so you have to be super-sure of your size -- and know that a wider ring will likely be a different size, as it hugs a different part of your finger.
Do you have a super-cool handmade wedding band you'd like to share? Do tell.

Hanging out with a half-done sock at the N.C. State Craft Center's temporary home near the JC Raulston Arboretum. The Ol' North State Knitting Guild was there for its monthly meeting, and Judy Tysmans was the guest, showing the women how to spin the wool that they love to knit. This is what we learned: Nepps are good; nupps are bad, and niddy noddys are kinda fun. Also, we learned that spinsters were once a valued member of the household -- valued, I tell you! The unattached woman was the dedicated spinner (spin-ster, get it?), freeing up the housewife for cooking, cleaning, etc., etc. (who's the happy one in that picture, I ask you?) Judy also allowed as how it took three kids to card the wool fast enough for the skilled spinster to spin it.
Oh, and whose sock is that? It belongs to Valerie Marino, who covers schools for The Cary News. The pattern is Monkey -- I forgot to check the yarn (hey, Valerie, give a shout). It is her first sock. She took up knitting two years ago and you can find her on Ravelry as -- just Valerie. and btw, we hadn't even met before we found ourselves knitting next to each other.

Next Saturday, when you're romping around Artsplosure at Moore Square in downtown Raleigh, take a dip across Blount Street to The Pour House for the second annual Insplosure. From noon until 5 on Saturday, local artists and crafters will sell their wares: Photography, painting, jewelry, textiles, stained glass, home goods and much more.

On Saturday at 11 p.m. (yes, that's at night), UNC-TV will air "Knitting Lessons" as part of its North Carolina Visions program. The 10-minute documentary film by Mary Dalton focuses on Mary Stowe — "the 'Yarn Queen' ... store owner (of yarns etc.../ Great Yarns), pattern designer, sales rep, and accomplished speed knitter." If you can't be with the knitters you love at that hour, DVR it to watch at your next gathering. Knit on!

Look at that bunny! Oh, yes, it is just as soft as it looks. Wimi met the bunny at the Averasboro Fiber Festival last month, as he moved from one home to another. His first home is Hollow Oak Farm in Parkton outside Fayetteville. Meg and Christ Zets specialize in angora bunnies and handspinner's sheep. He (possibly she -- so hard to tell at this point) is heading to a new home at Heelside Farms, where that soft, soft fur will be combined with Border Leicester, alpaca and silk for a spinnable roving that made longtime spinner Nancy Shroyer swoon (really, I saw it!) And who's responsible for that dreamy recipe?

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Sara-Anne Caudle of Wendell created this page using a picture of her daughter at the beach -- and it won the HSN Make it Memorable Scrapbooking Contest! Caudle writes, "It's one of my favorite pictures of all time. I felt that it captured those first moments of seeing the beach that summer. I wanted to use a Shabby Chic' feel for the layout. I used lots of white paint .. and made my own flowers using lace." The untold story is that Caudle's daughter had lost her grandmother and great-grandmother in a fatal car crash just days before. It is, as you scrapbookers know, the journaling that enriches a page, telling the story that converses with the picture. The old-fashioned lace frames the child, like the ghost of her foremothers embracing her as she looks to the future. She does not walk alone, and even in bliss, her life is informed by both sadness and the possibilities in life.
Caudle's entry was one of 1,700 scrapbooking projects entered by hsn.com users. See other winning pages here.

Local bead artist Kathy King will have a reception from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Ornamentea in Raleigh, where her work will be on display and for sale. "The signature component of my work is the beaded bead, where I weave small beads together to form a larger, more intricate bead," King writes in her artist statement. King's bead quilling technique is featured on the cover of the current http://www.beadandbutton.com/BNB/Default.aspx?c=i&issue=103&current=true&id=149">Bead & Button magazine. In bead quilling, King explains, "the holes of the beads are exposed rather than the sides, which makes the thread a more integral part of the overall design. The flat, distinctive look of bead quilling results in unusual designs that can not be achieved through traditional beading techniques." She is also a finalist in the mag's national beading competition, Bead Dreams. Great Grapes will serve refreshments at the reception, which is free and open to the public.
Kathy King's Royal Tiered Necklace