August 24, 2008

I was hoping things would slow down for me in August, but so far it hasn’t quite worked out that way. Had an all too short visit from my Aussie friend, Jenny King. I met Jenny on my Australia trip last year and we have become good pals. Jenny is a very talented crochet designer and shop owner (in Kuluin, Queensland, Aus) and is a wonderful person who is also fun to be with. We shopped, wined, dined, laughed and talked shop.

After that I had a visit from my family (father, brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew) up at our house in Pennsylvania and had a great time. My niece Tristan inherited genes from her mother and me which makes her a dedicated shopaholic (especially for designer clothing). The men went to the Pocono 500 (NASCAR race) which my husband equates with watching paint dry (he actually enjoyed the experience). One of the highlights of their visit was when we went to the nearby New Jersey State Fair. The animal exhibits and rides were just great.

I accepted an invitation to teach at the New York City Crochet Guild here in Manhattan at the Church Of The Good Shepherd, and ninety wildly enthusiastic crocheters showed up. We had a terrific evening and my Number One crochet advisor and good friend Josephine Brandon was there to back me up. I’m here to tell you that crocheting is alive and well in New York City.

To continue my “quiet” month…Shot more pictures for my upcoming Knitting In Tuscany book and had another “small world” experience. One of the models for the book, Angela Belotte, turned out to be a lovely young girl from my hometown in West Virginia, whom I had actually met 6 years ago. She did a great job, and I called everyone back home to let them know.

As you can see above, I’m also finishing up two projects. The first is a knitted wreath for the Tuscany book based on a terra cotta emblem created by the great artist della Robbia, for the powerful Wool Guild in renaissance Florence. The other is a knitted vase cover (in a silk yarn threaded with sequins and beads from Art Yarns) for Vogue Knitting’s celebration of my 25th anniversary as a designer. (See, if you hang around long enough, someone will celebrate your longevity, and of course I started when I was 10 years old!)

I hope your summer is a little less frantic than mine, and you are already planning your autumn knitting projects. Keep in touch…Nicky

P.S. Just got a lovely bouquet of flowers from my publisher for the completion of my Knitting On Top Of The World book. The bouquet flowers match the cover colors.