What can I say? I am, and have been, mostly uninspired all summer. I have finished a few unremarkable projects. Unremarkable, although I will just remark that one was another "One-Skein Nancy Shawl" in the Frida Kahlo colorway, and the other was the KPS "Easy Lace Poncho" (feather-and-fan lace done in the round on big needles) which is hanging up in the store. Both will be very nice to wear, but neither was particularly pulse-pounding to work on.
Well, the poncho may or may not be wearable once it's finished its stint as a store model, only because a lace poncho done in DK weight yarn on size 15 needles was not meant to be displayed on a hanger. Let's just say it will be the first ankle-length, formal poncho I've ever seen.
I'm putting together my class schedule for the fall, which should be available at the store and on the Borealisyarn.com website in a couple weeks. I'm thinking these classes may fill quickly, as we'll be getting a lot of extra attention to our store and website because of the temporary satellite store we'll be sharing in downtown St. Paul with a bunch of other yarn stores. (See Borealisyarn.com for more details.) It's at 4th and Cedar, and will be there for a few weeks, to coincide with the RNC.
If you're of the Democratic persuasion, you can always wear a pinch-on foil hat downtown to block the Republican rays.
If you have some time for reading this summer, read "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle", an amazing novel that I got lost in for days. (You can find reviews online that are better and more complete than what I could write).
I'm just finishing "My Sister, My Love" by Joyce Carol Oates, a darkly satirical (and disturbing, though riveting) novel that's about a family, and a murder case, that is much like the JonBenet Ramsey case. Though I didn't get sucked into too much of the JonBenet crap that was purveyed in the mass media, and therefore didn't read it in the hopes of finding out more about that case, it does raise some very disturbing questions about modern American culture. The only problem is that I may have to take about a week-long bath after I'm finished reading it.
In between these two books, I read Paula Deen's memoir "It Ain't all About the Cookin'" and Sandra Lee's memoir. I don't especially like either of these women's TV persona, nor do I like their cooking shows or recipes, but I often like to read cheesy As-Told-To memoirs. It's sort of like literary slumming. After reading the books, I have a lot of respect for both of these women, and the strength they had to overcome bad situations and succeed on their own terms. I still don't like their shows, but I don't think I'll make fun of them anymore.
The clock is now ticking down to State Fair (Fate Stair) time. (No, I haven't ever submitted anything to the Fair, and have no current intentions to. Why? I just can't be bothered.) And my sister B. and I are beginning to salivate for ... PRONTAGE! Yes, we are devotees of the Pronto Pup and stolid (and solid) opponents of the disgusting corndog. Why, Pronto Pups are Tempura Tube Steaks while corndogs are only coated weenies. And plus (also), corndogs are gross and just wrong and Pronto Pups are perfecta-mundo, especially with lots of mustard.
See you at the Seed Art display!
