Hey – and I’m not even that far from Cuyahoga Falls!
I love Cleveland – I lived here briefly on an internship with the Great Lakes Theater Festival my last year in grad school, and – ironically – two of the best women I know and consider my best friends are from Cleveland. Must be something in the water… (of course, the water is Lake Erie, so it could be ANYTHING in the water. Just kidding. It’s cleaner now than it was when I was a kid in Toledo.)
Speaking of Toledo, how thoughtful of the hotel to put me in a room that makes me think of my hometown! I wish I had warm, fuzzy memories of the town I grew up in, but leaving it was the best Toledo-related activity I did. I’m sure others have much nicer experiences in the town, but when I was a teen there Toledo was known for having the highest suicide rate for folks 18 and under, which didn’t surprise me one bit. I think of my first 16 years as being a long, long depression with a few light moments.
Toledo was a place where there just wasn’t anything to DO, except hang at the mall (and that was even more depressing than holing up in my bedroom, singing along to every original cast album I could get my hands on.)
Perhaps it was because of my family’s deteriorating financial situation, but it seemed that as I entered adolescence we moved from one ugly place to an uglier place. So when I pulled back the curtain on my room I felt like I was – back home.
On the whole, I’d rather be in St. Paul.
Today I teach a Combination Knitting Class at 2:30 at the IX center for the Original Sewing & Quilt Expo
I have to take a cab over – that’s new for me. Usually it’s a 6:00 pm class, I’m wondering how this will impact the number of students… I’ve been averaging 30-32 folks in my classes. But it WILL be nice to be able to crash here at the hotel this evening, NOT at 10:00 like I normally do!
Friday evening at 6:00 I teach Cabling Without A Cable Needle, also at the IX center.
On Sat I teach two classes (a morning and afternoon class) for the North Coast Knitting Guild (at the IX center) with a book signing at the IX center during lunch.
On Sunday I’ll be at Fine Points Yarn in Cleveland for a little talk at 1:00 pm. Then I fly home.
Home.
Guilt & Worry, LLC*
I’m worried about Gerry. Worried enough that – even though I reworked the front of the Patina dress (I replaced the bronze silk with a light blue/gold silk georgette that complements the darker skirt magnificently!) I’m considering foregoing the PRW audition if he’s not in good shape when I get home on Sunday night. He’s lost a LOT of weight in the past 2 months, his clothes are hanging off of him and I can tell he feels like crap. I can tell that Hannah’s feeling the strain, too. I should be there. The good news is that after the PRW audition I’ll be home for a full month, then away for a few days, then home for SEVERAL months. And, there is a good chance that when he finally gets in to see the endocrinologist we’ll be able to do something for the Osteo, which is causing him grief.
Would he be good enough for me to go off for the month or so I’d need to be away for PRW? I have no idea.
Our St. Paul adventure was my idea – I sort of dragged the family there – and now every few days I’m leaving Gerry home alone to deal with everthing. Although I love my job – it makes me wonder if I have to rethink what it is I do for a living. I love to teach, I like meeting so many knitters, I love the designing – but it’s a buttload of work for every dollar that I sock away, and means a lot of time away.
I think that’s part of my desire to do PRW. Yes, it would be a blast, it would be fun and cool and I’m a ham, I can’t deny any of that. But I would love to get my own line of ready to wear, heavy on the knits (hand knits!), or design a line of hand knits for an established fashion company. Could it happen? Who knows… Obviously I’m of several minds on this.
Did I mention I’ll miss the first evening of Pesach by going to Chicago. Please, may I have some more guilt with my tsimmis?
*Speaking of LLC, I want to set myself up as one in Minnesota. I was talking to someone about this, they were going to give me a link to do this easily through the state, and I’ve TOTALLY forgotten who I was chatting with.
Current Knitting
I’m finishing up a swing coat in Lorna’s Laces for the TNNA fashion show, and yarn just arrived for a Vogue piece. I’m waiting to hear about some IK submissions, it’s been a long while since I’ve submitted there – just so darned busy! And in my spare time I continue on a few book proposals I’m interested in shopping around to a few publishers.
But my main knitting this weekend is a corset top for me. Yes, I’m making one for myself! I’m using the same silk I used in the Emmy Dress – Classic Elite Playful Weekend – and I’ll wear it with a black skirt and black cardigan with my new black heels for my PRW audition.
Yeah, I’ll bet I end up going. This guilt thing is a new experience for me.
I just heard a story on local TV about a fire department in Toledo where all the fire fighters had to move into trailers because there’s mold at the fire house – ’nuff said?