>WOWSERS!  There’s nothing like seeing your designs on beautiful, famous people.  During the CYCA (Craft Yarn Council of America) sponsored fashion show at the huge Winter 2009 CHA (Craft & Hobby Assicoation) trade show in Anaheim, the emcee was dressed in my Amsterdam Coat.  She is the one and only Queen of Crafts, Terri Ouellette (Terri O to her adoring fans) and she makes the garment sample look fabulous.

 

The Amsterdam Coat is crocheted in NaturallyCaron.com Country, a worsted weight wool blend with all the softness and drape you could want.  Visit the site for the free pattern and catch up with Cari’s Blog while you’re there.

>Up to the day Mary Beth Temple first proposed this gig to me, cruising, in my mind, referred to what they did in “American Graffiti”. Hot rides, top down, see-and-be-seen, meet you at the drive-in and make mine a root beer float, please. Alternately, “Cruisin‘” is the 1979 Motown hit from Smokey Robinson, a sweet and sultry rhythm tune that celebrates neither cars nor boats but alludes to something else completely different. I now must seriously ponder the ocean-going meaning of the term.

Because when Mary Beth Temple says “jump” you say “how high, m’am“! MBT, author, designer/publisher of her own pattern line Hooked for Life, major nudge, alpaca addict and queen bee of the BlogTalk radio program Getting Loopy, hatched this jolly holiday along with her co-hort Mary Auger of Lace Wings Cruising. The plan is to gather a sympatico clutch of crocheters, lure them aboard a ship with promises of yarn, wine and tempting crochet classes, and set sail on the North Atlantic for 6 days/5 nights of cruising fun July 4-9. I am a bit fuzzy about how I got talked into it, but knowing MBT, it’s likely that she did all the talking.

I heard this line tonight on an episode of The Closer, said about the Kyra Sedgewick character but perfectly descriptive of MBT. When you’re a hammer, the rest of the world looks like nails. Basically she pounded and smashed to bits all my doubts and hesitations.

I never take vacations. What little free time I can scrounge up is spent wishing I had some designing to do.

“Oh, it’s only for a few days, Doris. Surely you can get away for a few days.”

I’ve never been out at sea, out of sight of land. What if I get, you know, sea sick?

“Oh, it’s a big ship, Doris. You won’t even know you’re out there, don’t worry.”

I don’t dream of summer idylls filled with sun and sand; I much prefer cold and indoors. Frack, it has been so long since I squeezed myself into my swimsuit that the elastic has certainly perished.

“Well, yes, it’ll be summer, but we’re going north, Doris, to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, wild rocky coastlines, scenic splendor, cooler air, plenty of stuff to do and you won’t have to go outside or put on a swimsuit unless you want to.”

That she-devil continued to pour honey in my ear. She promised we’d have a sponsor, Universal Yarns.

“Hmmm, yarn”, I mused.

She mentioned there would be an exclusive meet-and-greet cocktail party.

“Really? Wine?”, I murmured.

She hinted at the amenities and pleasures aboard a cruise ship and the 24/7 room service with no dishes to do and no housework for nearly a week.

“Now you speaka my language”. It all sounded so cool. There had to be a catch. As I was wondering what my responsibilities would be, MBT assured me it would be a breeze.

“Well, you will serve as co-host with me, make nice with the crochet guests, maybe sign books, hang out at the bar.” And then she dropped the bomb. “Oh, and of course you’ll be teaching.”

I was hoping I said no, was totally sure I said no, but I actually said yes. And I am keen to admit that I have gotten used to the whole idea of me, for the first time on a ship…. teaching crochet… and I am totally psyched. What the heck, I have five months to go swimsuit shopping. So please check out all the details of our cruise (reduced prices just announced) and join us if you dare. And someone please help me kick the Love Boat theme song out of my head.

>Scary. Mighty scary. The Knit & Crochet Today episode 213: Lovely Lace that contains my segment has just aired and I am afraid to watch it because doing so will only make me wish I could have a do-over.

Although I have plenty of experience and no qualms at all talking into a microphone, I’ve hardly ever appeared on camera. So last year when show producer designer/author Candi Jensen asked me if I would do an interview for season two I was hoping I said no, was totally sure I said no, but I actually said yes. How can anyone not say yes to Candi? The shoot was set for early March. All I had to do was trek to New York City, find the location, get grilled about myself and my work and remember to breathe. Seemed harmless enough. Yeah, right.

If the trip is doable in a day I prefer to drive. Danbury, Connecticut, Manchester, New Hampshire, Columbus, Ohio, Rhinebeck, New York, probably Buffalo, New York this summer… it’s all the same, an excuse for a road trip. This is coming from a life-long suburbanite who feels naked and vulnerable without her car. However, New York City is a different story. What, you’ve never noticed the sign at the entrance to the Holland Tunnel: “Here there be monsters”? And then there’s parking, a shudderingly nasty nightmare. So I opted to take the train from Philadelphia and the subway downtown to the Point Cafe, the location for the shoot. I had every expectation that this would be the less stressful way to travel and that I would arrive relaxed but perky, ready to do a brilliant interview. Yeah, right.

In order to make the transit connections I had to leave my house before dawn. Those who know me are now gasping in horror and disbelief because I rarely get up before 9. But I didn’t want to cut it too close. Wouldn’t you know it, Amtrak was running slow and the delay ate up my precious half-hour pad. That March morning was fair but blustery, so in my hurry and confusion when I miscalculated and climbed out at the wrong subway station and was obliged to jog the last few blocks to the location, I was a wind-blasted, runny-nosed mess.

I peered through the window of the cafe and was waved off because an interview with the delightful Mari Lynn Patrick was in progress. I had to pace back and forth on the sidewalk as nonchalantly as I could manage until the camera stopped. So much for arriving relaxed but perky. I desperately needed coffee or a few hours sleep. Although the cafe was closed to the public that day in order to host the shoot, the coffee was flowing and it was good. It took a few gulps, a few swipes with a brush at my unruly mane and a quick pat-down of my now shiny face before I deemed myself presentable enough for TV. Yeah, right.

Candi was happy to see me. Perhaps she sensed how little it might have taken to send me screaming out the door. Thank goodness for Brett Bara. A major factor in how painlessly an interview goes is the skill of the interviewer and her ability to put the interviewee at ease. I had already met Brett at CGOA conference in King of Prussia two years ago during the Professional Development Day luncheon when she spoke to about the launch of Crochet Today magazine. So I didn’t have to pretend I was just sitting at a cafe table chatting with a friend. I totally was. Brett was going to feed me the questions off camera with her side of the conversation to be edited out in post. I was instructed to begin my answers by partly reiterating the question so it would make sense. No problem, huh?

Problem one: the microphone. It had to be clipped to my clothes close to my face. The crochet vest I had worn to the shoot was not going to work, so I went with Plan B, an open front cardigan. Even so, it took a considerable amount of fussing to get the thing to stay in place. I think the sound tech was more embarrassed/annoyed than I was about the ordeal. Finally I just took the mic and arranged it myself. But I was warned not to move around so it wouldn’t fall off or pick up rustling noises. HOKEY SMOKES! I talk with my hands. This was never a problem in radio announcing (except that time I smacked the mic). I had to physically restrain my motions by sitting on my hands the entire time.

Problem two: the camera. A few minutes into the interview I could hear the camera tech telling the segment producer that I was looking at the camera. Well, yeah. I was working to camera. I thought I was supposed to be looking at it. Nope. I was asked to focus on Brett and direct my answers to her. So I decided to ignore the camera and pretend I was just sitting at a cafe table chatting with a friend. Am I having a deja-vu?

Problem three: my hair. In radio nobody can see your hair or anything else objectionable about you for that matter. Another time I will tell the stories about doing shifts in pajamas on bad hair days or why most radio announcers are unsightly. Don’t you know they had to stop the interview when the wind-tossed hair at the back of my head (perhaps a desired effect for a fashion spread but not for an interview) was too much for anyone to bear. Someone came over and smooshed it down, since I could not see for myself which were the offending hairs.

Problem four: the interview itself. Brett and I sat and talked for nearly half and hour, with the camera rolling part of the time. I never know when to shut up. The segment would be edited to a few minutes. It was never clear exactly when the chitchat with Brett ended and the proper questions began. For the life of me I can’t remember what I said in friendly banter and what was being preserved for posterity.

You must be the judge, now that I’ve spilled my guts about that day. In retrospect I know I could have done better. But it was a hugely valuable learning experience I would not trade. Here are my eternal thanks to Candi, Brett and the crew for making the segment possible and ultimately successful.

Hey, I’m ready for my close-up now.

PS. Knit & Crochet Today is a syndicated program and may be seen on PBS stations around the country. Check your local listings. Or visit the site to purchase DVDs of the show.

>Superior Crochet is the title of a new booklet from Tahki Stacy Charles as well as an apt description of what’s inside. I had the pleasure of co-designing this collection with my friend, Kristin Omdahl, whose stunning round shawl graces the cover.

Can you detect more than a hint of justifiable pride in my tone? This booklet offers some of the loveliest, laciest designs I’ve done. Kristin and I were each asked to create four projects using Filatura Di Crosa Superior, a luxurious laceweight cashmere/silk blend yarn. There could have been major ego problems with that. I can think of a few designers who would not have been happy sharing credit with another designer. And as I recall, we were approached separately and quite gingerly by Stacy Charles about doing this booklet together. No worries. Stacy had no way of knowing that Kristin and I had become total buds.

I met Kristin at TNNA last June in Columbus. I think we had seen each other the year before, perhaps danced around each other, but were at last properly introduced. My first impression was, frankly, WOWSERS. And internal giggling. Here was this tall, young Scandinavian beauty queen, the complete opposite of me, and yet we were both complaining about a similar ailment, namely, sore feet. I also discovered that Kristin drinks coca cola the way I slug down coffee. To each her own fuel.

We sat next to each other that evening at the fashion show and laughed out loud more than was seemly. That is me out of frame to the right with the straggly gray mane, big glasses and white crochet vest. Obviously the photographer (Vashti Braha) knew which one of us deserved to be the focus of that picture!

Kristin, an accomplished designer of knit and crochet, gracious and generous, was a fun and funny co-conspirator throughout this project. Although we worked independently on our own contributions to Superior Crochet, we did occasionally commiserate. At least my phone log tells me we burned up many minutes wingeing and checking in with each other. I worried at first that we could step on each others toes. I mean, how many different ways can you use the same yarn? Surely there would be some duplication in our visions. No worries. As you will see, each garment is fresh, innovative and perfect; harmonious as a collection and yet each piece reflects our own distinctive styles.

Here are Kristin’s other three Superior designs:

Here are mine:

Kudos to Tahki Stacy Charles for the gorgeous photography as always. Here’s a link to this yarn on the Tahki Stacy Charles site. Superior Crochet the booklet is being unveiled this month at TNNA in San Diego and will be available later this month from TSC for $11.99.

See more of Kristin Omdahl’s brilliant designs at her site. And congrats to Kristin on her lovely new book, Wrapped in Crochet: Scarves, Wraps & Shawls, from Interweave Press.  I am sure that Kristin will be blushing a pretty shade of pink when she reads this stuff, but too bad.  This is what friends are for, huh?

>In my recent article “Gauge Crashers” for Interweave Crochet magazine, I admitted to being a “lifter”. It was my intention to offer a sidebar to that article, the better to explore this concept, but the words didn’t make the cut. Let’s fill in the blanks here and now.

On the subject of Lifters vs Riders vs Yankers

I first heard these terms while I was doing a demonstration for the Happily Hooked on Crocheting Club, a chapter of CGOA in Connecticut. Dee Stanziano is co-founder of the chapter and wearer of many hats; among them are CGOA answer lady and CYCA certified crochet teacher. Oh, and provider of mighty fine wine when the occasion warrants. Dee hovered behind me, watching as I crocheted, and after a few moments she leaned over to whisper in my ear, “Doris, you are a lifter”. Recognizing a teachable moment when presented with it, she went on to explain what this meant. I dutifully pass on to you the eye-opening concept I learned.

Lifter, Rider and Yanker are non-technical, non-judgmental and yet wonderfully descriptive terms for how crocheters manage their stitches. Lifters tend to pull up on loops, raising them off the working row, higher than the diameter of the hook. Riders keep their stitches closer to the working row, with loop allowances about the same as the diameter of the hook. Yankers take back yarn by snugging up certain steps of their stitches.

Lifters’ stitches are taller, creating an elongated row gauge. Riders’ tall stitches may be squatter. Yankers’ rows may be both squatter and narrower, particularly if there are yanked chain spaces. This concept goes a long way to explaining why it’s not your fault if you can’t match the gauge in a pattern since it’s impossible to know which style crocheter set the gauge.

Although lifting, riding and yanking can be correlated to how loosely or tightly you tension the feeder yarn, that’s not always the case. It is possible to crochet in a combination of styles. For example, I don’t wrap my feeder yarn around my fingers; I simply hold it in place with a little pressure, so my tension is extremely relaxed. It is no surprise that I am a lifter of tall stitches, but inexplicably I am also an occasional yanker of chains!