The Craft-Tacular Art Spectacle is Coming!!

Darlings, it is a mere nineteen days until the first ever Craft-Tacular Art Spectacle!!

There's so much to be done! Posters and flyers to distribute, emails to send, event invites to post, marketing galore! And I have to make sure my vendors have everything they need to be successful. It's exciting and fun! It's like a planning a wedding without the bridezilla!!!

I also have to crochet a bunch of stuff to sell. Hats and scarves and fingerless gloves and baby blankets and baby hats and flower pins -- lots and lots of flower pins!!

I made two hats last night and one and-a-half this afternoon -- I feel like I work in a sweatshop!! And that's the way it's going to be around my house for the next two and-a-half weeks!

Don't nobody bring me no bad news!

Well, I'd love to chat, but those fine crocheted accessories are not going to crochet themselves! It's back to work for me! I believe the lovely and talented Emily is stitching at G & L Tavern tonight. I'm not going because it's snowing and I'm still recovering from throwing my back out at work last Wednesday. But go in my stead and tip that Matt Roben behind the bar handsomely, because boy-howdy, is he handsome! Until next time, my darlings, Peace, (radical) Love, and Yarn! XOXOXO

Crocheting to Wagner

Today is the dress rehearsal for "Parsifal" at Lyric Opera. With intermissions, the production runs five hours. Wagner had a lot to say!

I have an established and proud history of crocheting to Wagner. Three years ago, I dressed the supplementary men's chorus for "Lohengrin". I decided to crochet a skull cap for each of the gentlemen I dressed. Each act was an hour, and, coincidentally, it takes me about an hour to crochet a hat. So I brought in a bag of different colors of yarn and asked each of my guys in turn what color hat they wanted. He'd tell me, go onstage to sing for an hour, and when he got back, his hat would be waiting for him on his desk.

Last year we did "Der Meistersinger". I dressed the circus performers. There was lots of crochet time. I was able to crochet a knight's helmet with a  movable face guard, and have those circus fellas start teaching me how to juggle.

And now it's Wagner again. I brought three crochet projects to work on, and I even got a little juggling in! I love my job!

Sooooo that's the news for now! Easy, Drink, and Be Crafty is at R Public House tonight at 7. Until next time my darlings, Peace, (radical) Love, and Yarn! XOXOXO

Let's Get Moving!

"What you want is on the other side of fear."
                                                                     -- Jack Canfield

Yesterday morning, four of my friends that I met through Lyric Opera ran a 5k. I've always said that I only run when I'm being chased, but seeing Facebook posts from Linda, John, Alejandra, and Evan got me thinking that, in light of my recent twenty-pound weight loss and my desire to step up my physical activity,  I might be ready to start training for my very own 5k.

I had heard about a training program called Couch to 5K (C25K), so I Googled it. It's through a website called Cool Running. No, not like the movie about the Jamaican bobsledding team!! I read through the C25K plan and decided that I'd give it a try. It's a nine-week program; three training sessions a week, starting relatively slowly with a five-minute walk to warm up, followed by twenty minutes of intervals of 60 seconds jogging and 90 seconds walking. I'm starting training this very afternoon!

I posted on Facebook last night about my intent to start training and my friends who inspired me. Alejandra commented that I should let her know which 5k I decided to run so she could be there rooting me on. So I Googled Chicago 5k 2014 and found the Warm Your Heart 5k, an indoor single loop run at McCormick Place on February 23. So this is my goal. I am now a runner. Well, a jogger! Start small!!

That's all the news for now! I'll be at the G & L Tavern this evening for some stitching, bitching, and Bears football. You should come by too -- the bartender is ADORABLE!! And I'll be at R Public House on Wednesday at 7:00 for Eat, Drink and Be Crafty!! Until next time, my darlings, Peace, (radical) Love, and Yarn! XOXOXO