More on Awesome Austin

No, I'm not quite ready to shut up about Austin, so you will have to bear with me.

Although there for the music, I kept my peepers open for crochet, of course. And here was what I saw:And while this totally falls outside the realm of hooking, these are the freaking coolest shoes I've seen in ages!

I WANT them!

This is a close-up of woven baskets made of recycled paper. I saw them in a great shop featuring handmade goods from around the world. It was on South Congress, but I stupidly forgot the name:
And that red thing I was hooking in the prior post? Here it is today:

And finally, though this has less to do with Austin than anything, here is the more-or-less finished Cecilia vest from StitchDiva:More later!

Catch-up hook-up

We're back from ACL -- I mean, of course, Austin City Limits Music Festival. Which was awesome, by the way. Mighty awesome.

We saw old faves like M. Ward, Jenny Lewis, Connor Oberst, Gillian Welch, Abigail Washburn, David Byrne, Iron & Wine, and Neko Case, and new faves like Spiritualized, and The Octopus Project.

The Austin Craft Mafia was there and I am happy to report a healthy appreciation for all things crafty in Austin.

And I hooked.
Oh yeah, right out there in the open, for all the world to see, bold as you please. I would have been a bit happier if I'd seen anyone else crafting, but alas, I saw no one. That said, I did get a few people asking what I was making. One nice woman was a knitter who mentioned how she'd like to crochet. Another was a man who's mom crochets, so he recognized it right away.

Oh, did I mention I shopped for yarn at the amazing Hill Country Weavers in SoCo. It's like a rabbit's warren of little rooms filled with yarny delights!

I finished CopperScaleDragon's Skluvs, yes I did. Okay, maybe not the end-weaving part, but they are indeed lovely!

Saw some mighty cool things in that hot little town:
I think I may have had a margarita or two at Guero's Taco Bar:
All in all, a great time!

I need to do a couple of quick shout-outs:
First of all, the current issue of Interweave Crochet is one of the bestest in ages - I don't know where to start.

Also, my copy of Blueprint Crochet arrived today and I am awestruck! Robyn, it's fabulous!

Ohmigod, I'm gushing, aren't I? Sorry! But I'm seriously jazzed by these new sweets that showed up in my mailbox - Smiley's Yarn Sale and the Sheep and Wool Festival can't come fast enough!

Woo Hoo!

Whew!

So I got back from the Netherlands last night, and hubsy and I are heading to Austin Texas for the Austin City Limits Music Festival way too early tomorrow morning. So how was Amsterdam, you may well ask?

Way too brief, I might answer.

Above, a shot of my hotel room near Central Station. I arrived on Sunday morning in the wee wee hours after 7 1/2 hours of a guy next to me for whom bathing was optional and deodorant, some new-fangled technology with which he dare not engage. Did I mention the 4 year old behind me kicking the back of my seat all night? And that the mother kept her up? Yeah, sweet.

Bitch, bitch, bitch. I know, I hear the chorus now. We'll see what tomorrow brings when I'm flying my nemesis, Continental, whom faithful readers know I loathe with every fiber of my being. A report will be forthcoming...

But what of Amsterdam, you are probably asking? Did any crochet or yarnish endeavors take place? Well, let's review:
I have been working on CopperScaleDragon's Skluvs. Here's righty!

Okay, ease up - the pics were taken with my phone, for crap's sake. But they are coming out well, if I do say so. While on the subway the other day, a lady interrupted my precious podcast-listening time to chat about them (Jane, she thought they were awesome!). I'm using some un-labeled yarn purchased at last Fall's Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck. I'll post on these and other mitt-related topics upon our triumphant return to beautiful Brooklyn, NY. Till then, if any of you know of some cool yarny shops in Austin that the Hooker MUST NOT MISS, let me know, okay???