Today Thing 1 leaves for the Galapagos Islands with his grandparents and I receive that horrible weepy phone call every parent dreads.

Thing 2 and I get another crafty weekend and I share video of his first dance recital. Tonight, watching a splashy dance number he announces that all he wants to do is be on TV. Have we created a monster or was he doomed from the start?

I run out of time, out of technology to fix audio, and wine. But you didn't hear about that last part on the 'cast.

here are some links for you: Funny online movie starring Jaleel White and Leyna Weber. It's a new webseries Road to the Alter. Full disclosure, I was only able to stream the first minute plus (that's the technology part above) but what I saw was funny. I'm going to guess that it might not be PG though. Just a headsup.

Also, don't forget to check out KnittingDaily.com and BrookklynTweed. There's also the fab Etsy store with the cool Shakespeare Sock Club (I LOVE the colors), cool Twitter news, a book review by our own Becky, now of Tucson (Go Saguaros!), your link to the new Harry Potter Site, and checkout Leanne's Lovely blog.

Chapter 11—book talk starts around 30 min in.

Well, I knew I was having issues when I uploaded this file, but didn't expect an entire post to disappear.
Check for shownotes at craftlit.com.

First scheduling then technical difficulties! Soon. Promise!

Now, now...didn't mean to frighten you there...Leech was just a old fashioned way of saying "Doctor." Which makes me wonder why ANYONE would ever go to the Doctor?! Huge thanks to Penelope for reading this week!!!! YAY CRAFTLIT LISTENERS!!! Camille sent this picture she found. Feel the drama? News from Interweave:

Quilting Arts Gives Away Free eBook of 7 Quilted Bag Patterns

eBook giveaway celebrates launch of the new Quilting Arts website and online community, www.quiltingarts.com

Loveland, Colo. - May 2009: Quilting Arts magazine announced this month that they are giving away a new free eBook, 7 Quilted Bag Patterns: Handmade Quilt Bags from Quilting Arts, to celebrate the launch of their new online community website, www.quiltingarts.com

The new Quilting Arts online community is a place for contemporary quilters to engage with each and the magazine’s editors online, upload photos of their work, share videos, comment on stories, view Quilting Arts Challenge galleries, download free projects and tutorials, and much more.

The 18-page eBook offers easy-to-print sewing patterns and templates for making seven different handmade bags for every personality and skill level, from beginning stitchers to advanced art quilters. The free eBook of quilted bag patterns includes materials lists and step-by-step directions for every bag, along with beautifully photographed full-color examples.

“There is such a wide variety of quilted bags in this free eBook, from quilted accessory purses that are perfect for holding your jewelry or makeup when you travel to evening clutches and eco-friendly shopping bags. You might want to make them all. And what I love about quilted bags is that they are the perfect small project for trying new skills, or to show off your love of quilting when you’re out and about,” says Quilting Arts Editor Pokey Bolton.

Beginners can try their hands at an easy-to-assemble Artful Eco Bag, then apply their quilting skills to a Pretty Purse. The Easy & Elegant Quilted Bag is perfect for people who love embellishment and stitch, but not necessarily the intricacies of sewing patterns. More experienced artists will love the Blue, Yellow, and Purple Evening Bags and the Mini Messenger Bag with a digitally altered and inkjet-printed design.

Download the free eBook of 7 Quilted Bag Patterns here:

http://quiltingarts.com/7-Free-Quilted-Bag-Patterns/

For all of you (ahem, all of us) who don't speak Latin...you know...just in general...that would be a title for the Governor in our little book--in English: Who Watches the Watchmen? This week, Chapters 7 and 8 of The Scarlet Letter. Some quick links for your merriment: Checkout Scrivener if you have a Mac and write stories, lookee at News Knitter, Interesting idea...LifeHacks, another way to organize your days, quick and dirty (really) mosquito trap, how to read more books this year, how to learn faster, 14 ways to make your resolutions stick, The No-S Diet (not what you think), cool art from a Tucsonan, take a look at Ravelry before there was a Ravelry, a kewl knitted village, more expensive mosquito killer, and, finally, a fun blog add-on.

Not much for you this episode. Maryland Sheep and Wool was great. Jennie the Potter and Dawn and Amy were spectacular (a year since the cruise! Who knew?!). And now I'm heading out to NYC. Ping me if you are there and want to hook up. Whoo hoo! Next week will likely NOT have a 'cast, but the week after, you know it! And don't forget the challenge! Lots of Scarlet Letter yarn went at MSW. It really is a great scarlet color--and a wool silk blend. mmmmmmmmm yummy... Perhaps we need a Scarlet Letter T-shirt...

Hester embroiders!

Puritans are explained!

My new site is nearly done!

AND MSW UPDATE: After Party that Guido (It'sAPurlMan) and Alanna (TactileTravel) and Jess (Ravelry) have put together—It's Saturday night in Columbia and we'll have food and some door prizes and hopefully a ton of fun.  There's more info at http://tactileafterparty.com.

Interweave ROCKS–Go there NOW!!!

Interweave is celebrating Earth Day by offering two free digital issues of the most current Quilting Arts and Cloth Paper Scissors magazines for a limited time.

Digital subscriptions are great for the eco-conscious who are trying to save paper (or who are going paperless to stay organized and clutter-free)! And we love them because you can see the artwork in better detail; zoom in and out to better read the text; click on ads and go right to the website for more information; search your issues for specific articles; and so much more!

Have you taken a look at one? For one week only (until 4/29/09) you can view the entire digital edition of the Quilting Arts April/May 2009 issue and Cloth Paper Scissors May/June 2009 issue. These magazines have a regular newsstand value of $7.99 each!

INSIDE THE ISSUES

The 2009 Craftlit Challenge!

…for the first ever The March Hare loves CraftLit Design Contest!

We have dyed up a brand new colorway for our very special 70/30 wool/silk blend in a very special CraftLit colorway…a very rich, earthy, semisolid scarlet. Just what every self-righteous Puritan would choose to brand one who strays. We have of course named it The Scarlet Letter.

Such a yarn of course demands a fantastic design. That’s where we’re hoping CraftLit’s endlessly talented and creative listeners can help us. We’d like to challenge you to design something for the yarn inspired by the novel, the times, the characters. We’ll have a fantastic panel of celebrity judges pick the winner, who will receive the project’s worth of yarn.

The details:

1) All entries should be designed with The Scarlet Letter yarn in mind (not necessarily in hand).
Yarn specs:435 yards per cake. 70/30 merino wool/silk. True fingering weight: 4 ply with 14 wpi.
2) Knitting, crochet, weaving, tatting, macramé, nalbinding…if you can do it with yarn it’s fair game.
3) Entries must be in before the last chapter is posted to the CraftLit feed.
4) All designs must somehow incorporate “the letter” or an interpretation thereof.
5) To be eligible for the prize, the winning designer must agree to have their pattern available for free via the CraftLit website for 3 months after the conclusion of the contest. After that time all rights are retained in full by the designer and the free feed will be removed, pronto.
6) Entries should at a minimum include pictures of the final product and the complete pattern. Everything else we leave up to you. Let your imaginations run wild!

And to sweeten the pot, The March Hare will donate 10% of the proceeds from the sales of The Scarlet Letter yarn to CraftLit for the duration of the contest. (Including the 3 month free pattern period for those inspired by the winning project…)

So there you be CraftLit faithful. Go forth and create!

Many things from this episode! Not the least of which is chapter four of TSL!!!! New Interweave book! LOVE IT! Our THSG journal fundraiser full of pics of our artsy goodies from last year's challenge! Maryland Sheep and Wool! Find me at Jennie the Potter's stall with Knitty and the gang! FAST-DRYING NAIL POLISH (really...but, okay, not in that color)! Great YA book series!

I bait the "come-and-see-me" hook with three venues: Maryland Sheep and Wool, Sock Summit, and SFO.