The last two days have finally brought with them the promise of summer. We have had quite the period of overcast and rainy days lately and I was beginning to think that the sun would never return. I have been off this week for Spring Break, but hadn't felt like doing much of anything since I was getting over a bout of bronchitis from last week.

Yesterday, I decided to plant some annuals in the front garden. This was a big step for me, as I have never attempted gardening before. I always thought that I wasn't born with a green thumb and, despite all my years of Latin, the multitude of names involved with gardening intimidated me.



I picked up way too many Dianthus for the beds and not enough topsoil, so I had to go back to Lowe's and pick up another two bags. The planters are the new homes for matching African Daisies (Margarita africana; note to botanists: if all plants were named after alcoholic beverages, I'd remember their names better.)



Gardening costs way more than I thought it would and the four hours I spent on my hands and knees (but not in a good way) certainly had me feeling it this morning, but I feel like I finally accomplished something over this break. Good thing I went to the chiropractor yesterday after I got my hands dirty. And don't worry, I have more than enough gardening projects planned for the rest of the warm weather.



Editor's note: I had written this blog post on Saturday afternoon and was interrupted by screams of agony coming from the bedroom (but not in a good way). I had to stop what I was doing and take Monte into the emergency room for the third time in two months. I have been struggling with blog posts for quite some time now and, in an effort to simplify my life and to alleviate stress, I have decided to take a break from blogging, especially since Ravelry has come along.

I would like to thank all of you who have contributed to my blogging experience over the past three years and I look forward to keeping in touch with many of you.

It's not been a good week...

Eve Sedgwick Kosofsky (1950-2009)



Today, I'm surfing through the New York Times online and I come across an obituary for one of my favorite professors, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick. She passed away after a long battle with breast cancer on Easter Sunday, the same day we lost Mima.

I remember being a young graduate student up in Canada having just read her "Epistemology of the Closet" and wishing more than anything that I could take a class with this incredible writer. However, seeing as I was a music student in Canada and as she taught English at Duke, I thought that this would never happen for me.

Fast forward a few years later and I am pursuing a Ph.D. in Music Theory at the Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York and Eve has just joined the English faculty there. I approached her timidly one day and asked her if I could join her Queer Theory Seminar on Performativity, even though I was just a music student. She welcomed me with open arms, especially as she truly believed in interdisciplinarity and felt that I could bring something unique to the class.

Eve influenced my thinking and my scholarship in so many ways. I view the world now as a performative space, where identity is constantly being constructed through discursive practices. I also recognize the political necessity of negotiating between essentialist and assimilationist positions, particularly as I get older. More than anything, her work has demonstrated to me the value of accepting life for what it is and to be happy and in the moment.

At our very first class, she asked all of us to introduce ourselves by name and to reveal our totem animal. I thought that this exercise was a little flaky at the time, but right now, this little bear is really missing his panda...

(Photo Credit - David Shankbone)

Life Is Beautiful

I woke up this morning and the sun was shining and I was enjoying the first day of my week off from school. I even uploaded the six projects that I have finished this year to Ravelry and planned on finally updating this blog, when I learned that a friend of a friend, Mima, passed away yesterday after a long battle with lung cancer.

I helped to convince him to start a blog and was amazed to see his collection of Kaffe Fassett designs that he seemed to just whip off with no effort at all. I would check in every now and then to catch up on his travels and his many hospital visits and I was surprised to learn that he's gone because I thought that he had been able to defeat the monster.

My love and prayers go out to his partner, Paul, and his best friend, John.

Life is beautiful. Enjoy it while you can.

Happy New Year!

I want to thank all of you who have persevered with me while I recovered from my latest round of graduate studies. I'm happy to report that I have finally completed my master's degree in education. It has been a long and difficult two years for me and Monte.

Now, I should have a lot more time to blog again! Not to mention finishing up some long overdue knitting projects. I registered for the Men's Spring Knitting Retreat today and was able to get into one of the last quad rooms. Can you say "slumber party?"

Anyway, I guess this is the place to announce resolutions as well, so here goes:

1) Devote more time and energy to developing deeper relationships with my friends.
2) Simplify my life and get organized.
3) Rediscover my love of travel.
4) Take control of our finances and get out of debt.
5) Eat better and get back into shape.

I am feeling very optimistic about the new year. After all, 2009 can't possibly be worse than 2008. Hope you all are able to achieve your dreams in the new year!

The Eureka! Moment

I am finishing up the last semester for my graduate degree in education at Pace University, which is conveniently located near Seaport Yarns. I ran in before class on the Monday after I first saw my friend's new boutique with the thought that I would just pick up a couple of skeins of Lobster Pot cashmere for some neckwarmers. Well, I ended up spending a few hours (and more money than I had planned) talking with the owner and one of her employees, who was looking to do some sample work. I picked out some skeins of a wool/cashmere blend and some handpainted wool in addition to the Lobster Pot cashmere. I then wrote down some quick patterns for my first employee (wow!) and left my purchases with her, thinking that I would be picking up several scarves later in the week.

Of course, I soon learned that stitch patterns don't show up so well when a fine yarn in dark colors is used. In addition, fine yarn (we're only talking about US 4's here) just doesn't lend itself well to hand-knitted mass production. After only one skein (and one week later), I exchanged the wool/cashmere blend for some more of the handpainted wool (which felt like knitting with roving) and some Noro Big Kureyon, which certainly knits up quicker. I am beginning to realize that it is important to stay flexible and make decisions quickly; I am also slowly adjusting my business model and keeping my options open as I go along. More importantly, I realize that I have a lot to learn before I can get this enterprise off the ground.

But that didn't stop me from dreaming on the long commute home that first Monday night. I just couldn't believe that I had come up with an idea for a business related to knitting that could expand, that was scalable, and that would make me happy for a long time to come. Frankly, I couldn't believe that I was even going for it, but all the planets just seemed to be aligned and I thought that if I never aimed for the stars, I would always look back and ask, "What if?" I was imagining my own line of menswear, knitted items to start and then branching into other areas. (After all, Ralph Lauren started with neckties and look at him now!) I was thinking about selling online, about custom orders, about retail storefronts, about my own show at New York Fashion Week, about "Muted Elegance: The Book", about possibly being able to afford to knit and design full-time, which is what I think most knitters would love to be able to do.

Since then, reality has brought me back down to earth and every now and then I wonder if I will be able to turn my dreams into a successful business, but, for that one brief moment driving home, I was happy imagining a new future for myself and Monte. But, there sure is a whole lot of planning and work still to be done!

In the Beginning

For some time now, I have wanted to do something more with my knitting. Naturally, I didn't know what it would be; I just hoped that I would know it when I saw it. Being a blogger B.R. (Before Ravelry), I have been around for awhile, even if I haven't posted as often as I should have. It has always been nice to see my blogging friends doing so well in their new knitting endeavors: Franklin with his first book of knitting cartoons, Carol with her books of oh-so-fine patterns and hand-dyed masterpieces, Joe and Ted starting the Men's Knitting Retreat franchise, and Sean who left the corporate world to buy his own LYS.

I had thought about opening my own yarn shop, spinning and dyeing my own yarn, even designing patterns and creating a book of my own, but these options just didn't feel right. So, with all of these thoughts in the back of my mind, we went up to the cabin last month and ran into some friends at the Harvest Festival. They mentioned that the partner of one of my old rugby teammates had opened a men's store and that I should check it out. Well, I went and discovered that he was selling pretty high-end stuff, cashmere and merino sweaters mainly, and asked if I could knit like this. I said that I could knit him anything he wanted and he requested some hats and scarves to fill some gaps in his inventory. He had been open for only two weeks and had 5 days to get product in, so he hadn't had the time to think things through completely.

"This is it!", I thought. We came home and I ended up with a logo, business cards and a temporary website on the very first day. And so, my adventure began...

Come along for the ride!

So, I've been a little busy with the new side project, with which I am having so much fun! For once, I will have something ready to show off at Rhinebeck, my new Staggered Cables Sweater, which took all of one week to design and knit. I am halfway through another sweater already, though it may not be ready in time. I have also knit about 7 scarves in the past three weeks trying to get enough product available. Add hiring three employees and all of the research that I have been doing, along with a full-time job, and I think that you will agree that I have been just a little busy, which has caused me to neglect my blog once again.

I think every blogger goes through phases when they wonder whether what they have to say is in any way relevant or even interesting. I must admit that I was a little disappointed not to have received more feedback from my friends on my new venture in the comments, but then again, I probably lost most of my readers after my last little hiatus. I did appreciate the lurkers who stepped out of the shadows to friend me on Ravelry, as it makes me realize that many more people read my words than I know. So, how can I make this blog more enjoyable for all involved?

For the past month, I have been keeping notes on my adventures in entrepreneurship and I thought to myself, "Why don't I just post them here so that all of my supporters can come along for the ride?" We all struggle to find content for our blogs and this business will certainly provide me with more than enough copy to keep all of you entertained. Hopefully, these posts will also provide some of you with insights into what is involved and encourage you to take the plunge and get excited about something you love!