One Big Happy

Life Happens

2011-01-08T15:50:00.002-06:00

I wish I had something fabulous to say today. I'm hoping that by breaking the ice now and posting a blog it'll get me back here. Life has been a bit nuts lately, with me working again outside of the home and my husband's job completely sucking the life out of us.

In happy news I'm going to be knitting a shawl for my brother's upcoming wedding, for his fiance to wear. I'm thinking Citron, perhaps in silk?

Changes In the Wind?

2010-08-20T09:01:00.006-05:00

So I've been meaning to blog. But I've been thinking about doing some rebranding and changing the name of my business so I haven't, until I nail down the new name. Well I haven't done that yet but thought I'd pop in and post anyway.

It has been a busy summer. On the business front I've mostly been doing commission knitting in trade for lovely yarns.

I had a custom Etsy dye I did too that was fun, merino superwash in rainbow.

I've also expanded into fiber and have dyed up some roving and batts. I'm getting the fiber from a friend's farm in WI. I grew up visiting this farm so it's cool to be able to dye their wool now.

Serenity Tree stocked for the last time at the beginning of August. We couldn't find a new store "owner" and people weren't seeing sales, it's a bummer. I'm just at Made By Military Wives on HyenaCart and Etsy. But I haven't stocked at Etsy because I'm thinking about changing my business name and want to start getting feedback on that name. See the dilemma?

So stay tuned (but don't hold your breath) for new business info. Hopefully it'll be soon so I can get rocking and rolling on my new website. I have a friend who is going to help me with some of of the design so hopefully it'll be less lame than the current one is.

Maybe getting back to blogging will light a fire under my bum.

New Friend

2010-01-23T16:42:00.003-06:00

Here's the new friend in our house.

I made one for a friend in a swap and my 4yo decided he needed one too. He is calling it "Buddy" after my in-laws' cat, who is white and orange. It's the only kind of cat we'll be getting from now on. :)

"Proud"

2010-01-15T12:21:00.003-06:00

It has been awhile since I've blogged, I have had a lot going on personally. If you've been following my blog (both of you, lol) you know that my husband joined the Army National Guard last winter. After several delays he is *finally* home. On top of that we are expecting our 3rd child any day now so things have been a little busy to say the least.

I thought I'd post my latest dye creation here. It was for a swap, 200g of worsted weight BFL dyed in a peacock colorway, meet "Proud".

The recipient used to raise peacocks and has been collecting peacock colors for a project.

I'm very pleased with how this colorway turned out and have in fact dyed a 125g skein of BFL to list in one of my stores shortly. It'll probably go on Made By Military Wives on Feb 1.

Shades of turquoise, blue, purple, lavender, and olive green come together beautifully in this colorway that is Proud as a Peacock.

Santa Set

2009-12-08T18:06:00.003-06:00

I finished this Santa set up for our Cyber Monday stocking over at Serenity Tree. If it doesn't sell soon I may move it into my Etsy shop or my other congo - Made By Military Wives.

Kimono features black "belt" for outer ties and i-cord ties inside to reduce bulk. White garter stitch trim gives it a fuzzy Santa look. Chest circumference: 20", Sleeve: 7"

Longies also feature garter stitch trim, a gansey gusset, and short rows in the bum to accomodate cloth diapers. Rise and Hips: 15.5", Inseam: 9"

Santa hat also sports garter stitch trim and comes with your choice of pom pom or tassel on top. Circumference: 15"

Booties are 4" from heel to toe, include a black twisted cord drawstring tie around the ankle (not pictured), and are 6" high from heel to cuff.

The white trim is 85% wool and 15% mohair, the rest of the yarns are 100% wool, and as always the longies come lanolized and ready to wear.

Merry Christmas!

"Astro"

2009-11-17T12:04:00.004-06:00

Meet my new friend, "Astro".

It's kind of bright and fun. Black, orange, blue, and bright (and I mean bright) green.

It's stocking today on Serenity Tree along with a matching long sleeved t-shirt. The shirt is 18mos Circo brand, my kids have a couple of these shirts and I like them.

I had a hard time photographing the colors, the green really didn't want to show up. I also had a hard time getting the colors to set like I wanted. It was pretty frustrating and my hands are tinted bluish-black. One of the skeins I think looks a little more washed out, but I've listed them as "seconds" so hopefully that can make up for my mishap. It's dyed on Sweet Grass Wool 3-ply, which is 4oz and 153yd per skein.

Veteran's Day shipping

2009-11-10T19:03:00.004-06:00

In honor of Veteran's Day I am offerring free first class shipping to the lower 48 states tomorrow. All other shipping will be discounted. This is valid anywhere you can find me - my website, Etsy, Serenity Tree, or Made by Military Wives.

To those who have served, are serving, or will serve our country, and those that love them... thank you.

On A Roll!

2009-11-10T18:43:00.006-06:00

I have one word for you...

Done. It's finished. Finally.

"Savannah" by Dolce Handknits in Dream in Color Classy "Cool Fire".

Completion was a matter of procrastination mainly, as there was a lot of seaming to do. I seamed up the front and back pieces a few weeks ago but the sleeves didn't seem like they were lining up as they should so I put off finishing the rest. I finally got the guts to do it this weekend (thanks Dad), and what we have is a completed sweater.

So... my analysis. I've posted my notes on Ravelry, but I'll give you the gist of it here. The pattern was well-written and overall I have no complaints with it, other than seaming. I just don't like it. You know, you finish knitting, have this sigh of relief that you've *finally* got something to show for all this time... and you still have to sew it together. I just prefer knitting things as one piece so when you're done you really are. Except for blocking.

Anyway, my only real frustration otherwise is the yarn. It's nice yarn, seems to make a nice fabric, but there are no dye lots. No friends, no dye lots. And one skein isn't even that close to the next! Of course I didn't realize this right off the bat, not until I got an inch into the second skein.

I ended up having to knit from 2 balls at once to try to get the colors to blend. Overall it has a unified look, but if you look closely and/or hold say a sleeve up to the back you can tell. The customer has implied that she'll be satisfied with the finished result, and I hope it's true.

It's a pretty sweater. I think the empire waist gathering with no closure is slightly awkward, but it's personal preference. I won't even show a modeled pic for you because it's clearly not my size. The sleeves are a good 1.5" - 2" too short. :)

Oh, Glorious Completion

2009-11-06T17:53:00.002-06:00

Today I finished a longies / kimono set I've been working on for awhile. It seems to have taken ages to get it done, not because it was a huge project or because it was particularly difficult.

I got the longies done, no problem. Didn't take too long and were fun to knit because the yarn is *gorgeous*.

Adorabubble Britches, size 2T in Mosaic Moon BFL

Then I went to TX to visit my hubby (which I may not have told you about). We (my two children and I) drove from Minnesota to San Angelo, TX to visit my husband who is training there. Well, I didn't bring much knitting along. I figured I was going to have more than 2 full days in the car and 2-1/2 days to see him.

Probably wouldn't knit much. Then... a gracious friend of mine who just moved near Dallas offerred to let us stay with her for the week so we could see my husband again the next weekend. After 25 hours in the car, it seemed like it might be worth it to stay the extra week. The problem? (As far as knitting goes) I didn't bring the right size needles with me for this project. :( Yeah, I finished up another small one and worked on another large one, but I couldn't get started on this kimono!

Baby Sachiko Kimono Sweater in Spotz Golden Yellow with Mosaic Moon Trim

So I got home, got settled back in (a little) and got working on this. It took a little longer than I had hoped, but I got it done in less than a week. I modified the pattern slightly with some intarsia-like trim on it to incorporate more of the variegated colorway. All in all it's nearly perfect. The only thing I think I'd change is instead of doing the I-cords I would maybe do a twisted string like I usually do for the drawstring waist of longies. It would've been faster and perhaps tied the two (pun not intended, but funny none-the-less) together a little more. But either way I'm more than thrilled with the result.

I finished the last I-cord after 4:30 this afternoon, stuffed it in an envelope, and ran off to the post office just in time. Cristi, the recipient, has been incredibly patient while I've dealt with pregnancy and long trips to postpone her outcome. I hope she is pleased with it (and can use the little *extra* I included for her patience). She sent me some yarn she dyed up to knit for myself and I cant wait to decide on what to make with it. She has some great colorways, I'll be sure to show them when I get them photographed and/or knitted up. Thanks Cristi! I hope you enjoy!

October Activities

2009-10-20T20:04:00.006-05:00

I'm afraid I don't have much in the way of exciting new projects to report. I've been working on a few small things, I did a custom dye for a customer on a merino/mohair blend

and am still finishing up seaming "Savannah". When that's done I can get a good picture of it, I think it'll be a beautiful sweater. I've finished up a pair of longies as well but the camera was missing.

All in all it has been a pretty busy month trying to finish up some odds and ends as well as preparing for a trip to the grand 'ol state of Texas. My husband is training in San Angelo and we drove down last weekend to visit him.

A gracious friend is letting us stay with her this week near Dallas and we'll head back over to visit him again next weekend before making the 1,200+ mile journey home.

On another note, I just started in October stocking at Made By Military Wives on HyenaCart. All vendors are obviously military wives. We stock on the 1st and 15th of the month, so be sure to check it out.

Child's Tunic Sweater

2009-09-30T22:29:00.006-05:00

Here's one I've been working on for *ages*. I don't know why I didn't get my act together a month ago and just finish it, but here it is, at long last.

It's the Cottage Creations "Tunic Sweater for the Family". It was a pretty easy knit and I'm very happy with the way it turned out, except I'm not convinced it's *actually* a size 8... it just looks too small. But, I have small children and have never really held a child's 8 sweater in my hands and looked at it, so I'm sure I know nothing. I remeasured it all and it seems like it is right, so we'll see if it really fits the recipient or not.

The yarn on the other hand... gorgeous! I think it's Perfect Pear's Ardara in "Grotto". I wasn't wild about it on the skein but absolutely LOVE it knit up. It's soft, and really beautiful. I was hesitant to use a variegated yarn like this because sometimes the variegation is too drastic and takes away from the garment. This yarn is very colorful, several shades of green, blue, and purple, but the colors are subtle and while there are a few dark spots that stand out, overall it blends very nicely. The dark green adds a splash (just a splash, mind you) of interest, but not enough to take away from the overall continuity of the sweater. Plus it didn't pool. :) I despise pooling in almost every case. All in all, *beautiful* yarn selection. Too bad it's for someone else, huh? Did I mention I really hope the sweater fits?

Website Update and New Congo!

2009-09-30T10:41:00.002-05:00

Sorry for another boring post, I have to take some pictures of the sweater I just finished and the longies I'm working on. BUT, I have exciting news... I updated my website! It's still being worked on, tweaked here and there, and I plan on adding sidebar navigation but I just have to figure it out first. I'm doing it myself and all the coding can get overwhelming. But it has pictures and is looking okay, if you ask me!

Also I have joined a new congo on HyenaCart, Made By Military Wives. We stock the 1st and 15th, so my first stocking is tomorrow! Come and check it out, there are lots of talented ladies on there!

Happy Birthday Serenity Tree!

2009-09-25T09:43:00.005-05:00

October 6 is our anniversary stocking over at Serenity Tree. I can't believe it has been a year already, but it has. We have lots of things planned, there *may* be some FFS lotteries (not sure yet), and we're having a couple collaborations, a mama one and a baby one - most stores are pitching in. It should be fun! So stop over October 6!

A Noggin's "Habitat"

2009-09-09T15:09:00.003-05:00

This is my latest finished object, a hat.

I saw an alchemy request on Etsy for a man who wanted a very soft knit hat that was clearly not commercially produced, but also was sophisticated enough he could walk down Wall Street in it and not remove his hat in shame. Jared Flood's "Habitat" fit that profile.

Initially it was to be knit in a navy blue cashmere, but after a quick e-mail to The Tweed himself, we concluded that cashmere might not have enough stitch definition to pull off the cables well. Instead the customer decided on a Blue Sky Alpacas merino/alpaca blend. The yarn is very plied and has good stitch definition as you can see. Plus, it's super soft.

Want a Herd?

2009-09-08T18:29:00.002-05:00

Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm has an essay giveaway going on right now, it's incredible. If I didn't live in the city I'd be pleading with her to be the winner. Details can be found here. Basically, by September 16 send them an essay on why you'd like to win a small herd of angora goats and she will pick a winner. How cool is that?! Here's an excerpt from her blog:

"Here’s how it works: Anyone interested in entering this giveaway will need to send me an essay telling me why you’d like to have a small herd of Angora goats. Your essay can contain photos, video, whatever, but mostly I want to hear why you’d like to be a shepherd. Have you always wanted sheep or goats of your own? Do you yearn to set up your spinning wheel in the pasture amongst the goats? Tell me all about it."

I'm totally jealous and want them for myself but I can't have them. So, I'm passing the word on to those of you who might.

Congratulations, Jill!

2009-08-26T22:55:00.006-05:00

My friend Jill is pregnant and due in about 4 weeks. I went to a baby shower for her last night, which was absolutely fabulous. I saw old friends I haven't talked to in years, and got to just "be" for awhile.

Jill has asked me to attend her son's birth, which has me tickled pink (providing I can get care for my own kiddos during that time). It'll actually be the first birth besides my own kids' that I've attended. I wanted to make her something kind of special and fun, and I was in a bit of a pinch as I didn't buy the yarn for it until last Friday. So here you go, Baby Yoda:

I knit this out of Sublime's Cashmere Merino Silk Aran, it took about 2.5 balls. The yarn is soft, but kind of splitty. I didn't think the pattern was fabulously written, but it *is* a free pattern. Instead of knitting the back, front, and sleeve panels separately and then seaming them together I knit it from the bottom up with the fronts and back together, split for the arms, grafted the shoulder seams, and then picked up sts for the sleeves and worked down. I'm *very* glad I did it that way, as seaming is not my friend.

I suppose I had better get used to the idea though, as I have an adult sweater on the needles for a customer and I decided I should probably knit it as written, though I'm questioning that decision. Either way, here's my Baby Yoda in Artichoke Green, just waiting for a baby to be put into it.

New Yarns

2009-08-17T14:25:00.003-05:00

Here are two new yarns I dyed up for tomorrow's stocking:

Meet "Eve"

It is similar to the "Sunset" colorway, but without the blue. The base yarn is 70% Merino, 30% Mohair and is dyed with professional quality acid dyes. Colors are dark pink, orange, salmon, light pink, and white. It reskeined beautifully and I hope it finds a new home.

And the second, was a bit of a nemesis to me. Meet "Scrappy"

Like any child, scrappy was a bit of a nuisance, but worth the effort when all is said and done. I split this 4oz hank into 9 relatively equal sections and dyed them separately. "Scrappy Pants" are all the rage these days, but with them come lots and lots of ends to weave in. This skein takes the weaving out of scrappy pants.

I did repeat colorways, so if you split the ball in half you'd have two identical balls, the outside ends being the same. I figured this way you could knit both legs at once starting from each end of the ball and have them end up pretty close. So sections 1 and 9 are the same, 2 and 8, 3 and 7, 4 and 6, and then 5 is different. It was a lot of work to come up with colorways that would be different but flow a little, reusing colors here and there to create autonomy, and keeping it fairly gender neutral. It's kind of a bright, fun skein. I hope to see it knit up.

Still Around, and Still Knitting

2009-08-15T17:18:00.005-05:00

I realize it's been awhile... again. We had a nice trip to KY to visit my husband, and an even better trip to MO to visit him while he's waiting for a physical. Here's a picture of us in KY walking to dinner:

And another one in MO at a splash pad we found a few miles from our hotel:

Both were good trips, but far too short.

In the knitting world, I have been knitting. I have a sweater for a friend's daughter (size 8) coming along, I'll have to post pictures of it. I also just *finally* finished this custom:

It has been done for ages, except the duplicate stitch on the butt. I love how they turned out, and I hope the mom loves them as much.

I got some yarn in the mail today for a couple of Etsy sweaters, I'll post those at they get rolling.

A Peek into Our Lives

2009-07-07T14:21:00.007-05:00

It has been more than a month since I've posted, yet I don't have much business-wise to report. I really haven't been making things much. As I think I explained previously, my beloved husband joined the National Guard in February and has been gone since the end of April. He left with an unfinished house and I have been working on keeping my sanity togther, parenting two small children while pregnant our third, and slowly getting our house put together. Not to mention it's summer and we go to my parents' cabin on Big Sandy Lake most weekends.

We also had the big parade this year again. I rode with the kids in the rescue boat behind one of the rescue trucks. The kids have fun waving at people and we're toward the front of the parade so we get to go home first. We had 5 kids this year including mine, so it was a bigger turnout than usual.

Our big news is that my husband graduates from basic on Thursday and we're leaving tomorrow to go see him. It's a 12 hour drive with no stops, detours, potty breaks, or road construction, so we're leaving at 6am tomorrow. We're hoping to be south of Chicago by rush hour. I got a new dress for the occasion, my friend at Goff Couture made it for me. I'm very excited to wear it, my son said "It's like a princess!"
And maybe that's the best description, since it has princess seams. She added godets into the skirt so it's a little fuller and in case you're wondering: Yes, it twirls. Very well. She does beautiful craftmanship and I hope to do more work with her in the future. The picture isn't very good, I know, but there are no photographers in the house today so I propped the camera in the windowsill and used the timer feature. You get the idea.

We have had a busy week - we got a new water heater yesterday and the carpet was installed in the bedrooms as well. Today I moved the beds into the bedrooms, where the kids are currently napping. We did a bunch of shopping and bought some new things to play with in the car and at rest stops to get us through 24+ hours in a van with 7 people. Today I have to finish packing, pick up our Peace Fleece at my mom's office, drop the kids off so I can go get a hair cut, and then head to a meeting, come home and finish loading the van. All in all we have a lot of stuff going on, but it's all good stuff so I can't complain too much. I gave the little man a hair cut last night too. I had been letting it grow and get a little shaggy because my husband dislikes it. I wanted to get a good picture of it all curly and cute, but figured it had better get cut before we go down to see him. Here are before and after shots:

And lastly I leave you with the Ice Cream Face. This is my beautiful daughter. We were eating ice cream before bed last night and in between bites this was the face she'd give me.

Waiting for more.

Camping

2009-06-03T21:34:00.003-05:00

We are having a camping theme this month over at Serenity Tree. Here are the two yarns I dyed up this week, both on 3.5oz Uruguayan 1-ply merino. It was a fun yarn to work with, being so soft. The dye seemed to take a little more richly on the merino vs the peruvian highland wool I've been using.

Here's "Sunset":

It's a beautiful blend of pink, salmon, orange, and blue.

I just think it's beautiful and hope I get to see it knit up.

The other is "Sticks -n- Stones", it has sold already but is wonderful to look at anyway.

I mailed it today to Canada, so it's really out of here. I'm really pleased with the colors though.

And lastly, my "Woodland Pixie" shorties with a leafy ruffle.

They're 6 mos size, and really cute. Overall I'm pretty proud of the stocking. I do need to get some more yarns and bath products featured in my Etsy shop, but Serenity Tree is taking July off, so that might be a good time to focus over that way. So far most of my Etsy store is just things that haven't sold in a month on Serenity Tree.

Well, stay tuned! I'm sure the dyeing bug will hit me again in a couple days. Plus I still need to post the pattern for that blanket, don't I?!

Custom Blanket Complete!

2009-05-28T22:11:00.005-05:00

I just finished up this blanket for a custom order on Etsy.

I should really take another picture of the whole thing with it laid out more nicely. I went back and straightened out the edge and trimmed it so it should look better.

It's feather and fan pattern, very basic, with an added fringe. Knit on US13 needles with a Lion Brand Pound of Love, 100% acrylic. I think I'll post the pattern later, it's nothing special or fancy, but all in all it turned out pretty nice. It was to duplicate the customer's daughter's security blanket. She likes to stick her fingers in the holes and twirl them in the fringe. I hope this is all she was hoping for.

Twilight

2009-05-26T21:44:00.011-05:00

I got a custom order on Etsy to handpaint some yarn inspired by "Twilight". It took awhile to get done since I am still not staying at home and my computer crashed to top it all off, but here is the result:

"Bella" - Bella is a brown-eyed brunette, and blue is the color Edward likes best on her.

"Cotton Candy" - the name has nothing to do with "Twilight", but the colors were suggested by the customer and it reminds me of cotton candy. Light pink, reddish pink, blue, and some grey

"Edward" - Edward's eyes change color depending on his cravings. This skein includes a few of them.

"Lust" - This colorway has shades of red and black, perfect for your inner vampire.

"Quileute" - Jacob Black is part of the Quileute tribe. Tribal colors are black and a dark orange.

"Vampire" - No explanation necessary.

And a final shot of them all together. I'm a little disappointed with how similar "Edward" and "Quileute" turned out, the latter should've been more orange and less yellow. However, maybe it's fitting since they're both fighting for Bella's heart.

So Much To Do

2009-05-10T22:15:00.003-05:00

Holy smokes, it has been so long. I apologize to my faithful follower. My justification is valid, I promise. My darling husband, the love of my life, left for basic training on April 29. Before that we spent a bunch of time cramming to get the house put together before he left. Since then I've been staying with my folks while the drywaller is in there making a mess. So, it's relatively justifiable, at least I think so. I have a ton of things in the works, a handful of Etsy custom items, so it has been kind of fun. I'll post some pics later, but for now I'll leave you with a skein of yarn I dyed about 3 weeks ago.

Spring is here, time for a "Royal Rainbow"

2009-04-19T16:40:00.002-05:00

Here's "Royal Rainbow". I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.

I wasn't sure whether I should continue with the rainbow or add the black in. I added black.

The colors are so rich and bright. I love it. It'll be listed on Tuesday.

Dreaming Big

2009-04-03T15:44:00.002-05:00

Apparently there's a website called Name Your Dream Assignment where you can win money to do exactly that. Gale Zucker's entry was brought to my attention and I thought I'd pass it on. You have to vote today if you want to help her out. There's something about working with animals and livestock that brings a satisfied smile to my face. Check out The Heifer Project as well, they provide livestock to families so the parents can make a living and send their children to school. Pretty cool.

The Damage

2009-03-31T11:34:00.003-05:00

I dyed a skein of yarn in the morning before the destruction and mayhem began... Coleus. It's waiting for reskeining and I'll post a picture then.

Photos of the damage done yesterday...

Here are my new stairs.

Apparently they *almost* didn't get done "in time" and he almost called me to tell me not to come home last night. But he got them done. The first thing he said was, "We made a lot of progress, it's looking really good." So I said, "That means you ripped a bunch of things out." He didn't argue.

That's my son peeking from the upstairs set of stairs onto the main level. The other pic is my daughter in the kitchen while I was on the stairs. Obviously we don't have risers yet. Ds was a little cautious coming down the stairs this morning. First he called me to carry him down because he wasn't sure what to think, but then he traversed by himself.

But oh, man... you should SEE the DUST!

I can't understand why it's everywhere. The dining room just isn't that close to the stairway. I suppose it's between the living room and kitchen, but still. Dust EVERYWHERE. And I'm not real excited about it.

We've got a couple piles of debris as well. This one is in the addition, it's the sheathing, etc. from the outside of the house. We have to use the other door because there's too much in the way of the door.

And this one is in the basement. I'm particularly not excited about this one. If you walk down the stairs into the basement (directly below the see-thru stairs) this is on your left. It's what is left after he got ahold of the block wall with a cement saw and maul.

This just scares me because there's no longer a door at the top of the stairs so no way of keeping the kids on the main level. Our stairs go down and turn to the right, so this is right to the left of the landing. They could just hop right off into that. I doubt they will, but if you're a mom you understand. Moms have unreasonable fears all the time.

So that's where we're at. Dh just got home from drill, he said he mopped everything last night, so all this dust was just lingering in the air and settled while we were sleeping. That makes me feel a little better at least. :) He has already cleaned off the dining room table.

The additional space will be nice when it's done, and boy... will I be glad! I think I need some knit therapy. I got a great big bag in the mail yesterday from a mom on DiaperSwappers I'm trading with. I'm knitting her and her girls some slipper socks and she made me a knitting bag. I need to fill it with yarn and go someplace for some knit therapy. That'll make me feel better. Actually, I don't have time for knit therapy, I've gotta hit the sewing machine. 4 diapers to make by Friday, that's my goal. They don't take long, I've just gotta convince the kids that sewing is a good idea. They seem to like my attention. :)

Why I'm Not Home

2009-03-30T16:06:00.004-05:00

Call me crazy. I'm not at home, I took the kids and left to my parents' for the afternoon (and evening). I think I'm a pretty reasonable person, and think I have been a very supportive wife lately. Our house is under some major construction and my darling husband has been doing most of the work himself. He's a busy guy. If you've been reading long you know he's a firefighter, which he does on top of his "real" job. So he's busy. He's also a carpenter and does residential remodeling for said "real" job. He goes into people's homes, tears out ugly and icky things, and replaces them with pretty and nice things. This is where the conflict comes in.

I'm a saver. I'll admit it. I prefer "saver" over "pack rat", because I'm not quite to pack rat level, I get in moods where more things end up in the trash, but reusing whenever possible is important to me, for budget and environmental reasons. Dh isn't a saver. He's a thrower. "What is this, I don't know, I'm just gonna throw it and pretend like I've never seen it if she asks." Part of this I think is because he's used to doing what's easier, and he doesn't foot the bill. And there's something to be said about the price of labor, it often costs more in labor to have a guy reuse a door in a new location than it does to put a brand new one in because reinstalling a used door is labor-intensive. Well, labor is free in our case, materials are what we're paying for, which really is beside the point. The only way this is relevant to why I'm not at home is because he's a carpenter and used to ripping people's houses apart and they're okay, and even excited about it.

Me... not always. I was okay with him waking me and the baby up early this morning with noise. I dealt with him ripping man-sized holes in every level of my house.

I even quietly went out to our (detached) garage and found the fan, opened up windows, and ventilated the house when we couldn't breathe from all the exhaust from the gas powered cement saw. I got a little frustrated when I was sweeping up 40 years worth of dust that fell out of the ceiling into my living room after he tore the drywall out (overhead in the picture above), but the last straw was when he started ripping the stairs off. Yes folks, ripping the stairs completely off to rebuild the stringers. With 2 small kids home. See, when you're working on someone else's house, you communicate with the homeowner on what is going on. They're given a schedule and the lead carpenter tells them what's going on. "So, Mrs. George, this week we'll be breaking holes from the house into the addition so we can get things prepped for the electricians. Oh, they'll be here next week." The problem is, Mr. George is both lead carpenter AND homeowner. This means the homeowner is fully apprised of all aspects of the project, but many of these details elude Mrs. George. Why, might you ask? Because she's busy caring for 2 small children, working part time, trying to run her own small business, and frankly just can't nurse a sleepy baby while hanging siding.

They'll supposedly be done by tonight. If I have to walk on stringers (the part that the treads sit on) to get up to my bed tonight I'll not be a happy lady. You still think I'm reasonable, right?

Just Diapers

2009-03-27T21:34:00.004-05:00

I have been waiting to post until I could take some good photos of my newest excitement around here. Maybe tomorrow.

Instead I'll just put up some diapers I have finished. I'll be listing them for Tuesday's stocking. I just think diapers are so stinkin cute! I also have one in a froggy print that I finished up today.

Apparently I only have the elephant one in the computer. I'll get more on. Here's an "old" one, one I sewed up several months ago:

Oh, and other news, I'm currently actually writing up the Tweets pattern. I hope to have it tested in a week or so and then have it available. I haven't decided whether I should offer it free or charge yet. I just can't get over how cute they are...

Some Finished Projects

2009-03-21T01:32:00.004-05:00

I have promised to post pictures of a few things here lately and have fallen short, so for this late night post I'll give you the gory details of a few projects I've completed lately.

First off is the first of two pairs of longies I made for a trade. These are knit in Purewool's "Chocolate" colorway and are a newborn size:

These are for the same trade but are a 6 mos size. These are the ones I was having major creative block for. Once I figured out what I was doing it went pretty well. I think they turned out pretty cute:

And this is the felted purse I made for a friend. I mailed it to her and she loves it.

Now she wants one in summer colors but isn't sure exactly what she wants. I was thinking maybe blue or green with some sewed on felted flowers. That would be fun and summer-y.

Dang, I should go to bed. I just got home with the kids from hanging out at a friend's house. Dh is working overnight tonight but he's planning on working on the house tomorrow. So he'll be up making noise probably earlier than I'd like, plus I'll have to make the guys food (suppose I should "pay" them SOMETHING for their free labor). Man, it's cold in here. It's only 37F out but we keep our house cool to save on the heating bill, especially at night. Now I'm rambling. That's what I do when I'm tired. :)

SPRING!!!

2009-03-17T18:43:00.005-05:00

Man, it's finally here. Yesterday it was in the 60s, today it's mid-50s and we spent a good portion of it outside. We were supposed to have a playdate this morning so we went to the park (no one showed) and played for 45min or so. It was a little chilly because the clouds took our sun away. It brightened up this afternoon and we spent another 2 hours at the park behind our house. Both kids are sleeping soundly right now. Yes!

So I said I was going to make a shirt, well here it is:

It was pretty fun to make, to create something different. The boot prints go around the back and back to the tent. It's size 6-8 children's. Being from Minnesota I especially appreciate the mosquitoes. :)

I want to try lino-printing. You make printing blocks out of linoleum tiles and use them on textiles (as if I need another hobby). There are a few good tutorials out there, a really good one on Jezze's blog. I think I need a few tools before I can do it effectively, and right now I'm holding out for dh to make me a couple swifts (especially after all the wrangling I did today to get Retro skeined properly) so the tools will have to wait. *sigh*

Introduce... "Retro"

2009-03-16T14:54:00.003-05:00

This one was kind of fun. I used a new dyeing technique that I "made up" (which isn't to say other people don't dye yarn in pickle jars) and dyed this skein of yarn.

I am listing it tomorrow for our stocking at Serenity Tree. It is a semisolid yellow overdyed with blue and green. It reminded me of tie-dyeing, hence it's name, "Retro".

I will list this, "Engine 3", and probably a shirt I haven't made yet (which reminds me, I have to go throw those in the dryer, drat!). I'm going to save my diapers for the next stocking. A friend ordered 2 of 5 different prints, so I'm making 3 of each to have one to spare. I'll post pictures later, and leave you today with a swatch of Retro.

Engine 3

2009-03-11T16:30:00.002-05:00

Here is the yarn I dyed last night. It's called "Engine 3", inspired by my dh who is not only an incredibly patient man, but a firefighter. I took colors from both the engine and fire. Engine 3 is his ride. Enjoy!

Procrastinators Never Prosper... Especially in a Snowstorm

2009-03-11T14:46:00.003-05:00

We had the strangest weather yesterday. Yes, I know, I live in the Midwest. The weather isn't predictable and often is kind of nasty, especially this time of year. Yesterday was a prime example.

It started out raining in the morning, and turned into sleet and snow pellets. I looked out the window a bit later and it was snowing, only not the soft, fluffy kind of snow, but the heavy, wet flakes that come barrelling toward the ground. It was an angry snow. I looked out again later and it looked like the snow was pretty much done, the sun had broken through and it almost looked pleasant outside. Then it started snowing again and blowing. Swirling, twirling, and COLD.

See, I had to run to the store. I wanted to dye some yarn and get a few other things (like toilet paper, which we were COMPLETELY out of). I also had to return a movie to Redbox. I kept putting it off thinking I'd maybe get the neighbor to watch the kids for 20 min while I ran to return the movie, aah, no, I'll just bring them. So of course I waited and put it off, and by the time I decided I should really go, we were in the swirling twirling freezing cold portion of the storm. If I just would've gone earlier I wouldn't have frozen my little toes nearly off, and I probably wouldn't have had to fight with the car door, which was frozen shut. Good and solid, too. I'm the type that wears flip-flops all winter long, if for nothing but the convenience of slipping them on and heading out the door. It was so cold, I got the kids loaded up and came back inside to change my shoes. That *rarely* happens. Of course I couldn't find both tennis shoes, so I settled for my Keens (mine are lime green), which are also sandals but at least have the toes covered.

So we went shopping, bought brat buns, bread, toilet paper, squirt bottles for holding the dye, and got to the saran wrap. In my head, "Hmm, so 'they' say not to get cheap stuff. There's this, or this. Only two choices? Well, I do have some at home that worked fine last time I dyed. I'll just use that." Check out, run to car, go home. I get myself set up to start dyeing, get out the cling wrap... not enough. Seriously, I was like 6" short. I probably would've skipped the store altogether if it weren't that I wanted to dye up a colorway I had in my head, dh was at work, and I had nothing better (read *funner*) to do. So, I ran over to the neighbor's and borrowed hers. The battery on my camera is charging, so I'll put up a picture later, it turned out okay for my first attempt.

Book Feature

2009-02-27T20:52:00.002-06:00

We are stocking specially this month, on March 2nd instead of the 3rd and we are doing a book theme. A lot of the ladies' listings are related somehow to a children's book. It should be fun. I admit, I don't have nearly as much together as I had hoped I would, but sick kids and lifechanging decisions will do that for you. :) I've been preoccupied.

HOWEVER, I do have this little guy all ready to go, he's been ready for a couple weeks and I don't think I've featured him yet. He's my little Rainbow Fish, knit out of some rainbow colored wool I dyed last summer. He has irish knot eyes that were knit right on so they won't fall off and pose a choking hazard... AND it rattles! It turned out smaller than the last fish I knit, I used smaller needles and like the result better. So... here you go!

Funk

2009-02-20T15:00:00.003-06:00

I'm in a bit of a funk right now. I have a few projects I need to get done but I just don't have any desire to work on them. Plus I need to come up with some new ideas for the March stocking (book theme), but I'm coming up empty. Well, nearly empty.

I did whip out a felted purse for a friend of mine in a few days. Easy fast knitting. I'll post a picture when I get them uploaded. It was some kind of magic pulling it out of the washing machine, seeing it all small. I had checked on it a couple times before, but still. Knowing it was done was exciting.

We have some life changing decisions to make here in the next week or so, so pardon me if I'm a bit on the sloth-ish side. I think I am just being overwhelmed and therefore having a creativity block. I'll still take any creative pants suggestions. I think I'm just going to use the leftover yarn from the felted bag to make a pair of stripey longies for the second pair. Argh, I never posted pics of the first! Well I'll have to get on that when I get home...

Inspiration

2009-02-16T14:24:00.003-06:00

I'm in need of some inspiration. I have a pair of pants I have to knit up for a trade and I have no idea what to do. I am knitting two pairs, one is being lanolized right now. It's in 100Purewool "Chocolate". Newborn size with a fancy cable down the side. Now I have to make a 6 mos size and want to do something nice but am at a total loss. I keep having ideas using fallish colors, but it's almost spring and the baby is due in July. I suppose by the time s/he is big enough it'll be fallish again. Hmm, that might help. Anyway, I need some inspiration. I'm thinking of making a contest out of it...

Will post a pic of the completed longies once they're done bathing.

Trading Talents

2009-02-05T18:33:00.004-06:00

Lately I haven't been knitting much for the store but I have been working on some trades like a crazy girl. I've been looking around on DiaperSwappers for people who are in search of knits of some sort. So, I have knit a cat sweater:

The cat and owner seem to like it. I will say, I tried it on my mom's chihuahua twice and my own cat once. Max was less than excited about her clothing debut and had more than a few things to say about it. She hissed and clawed and I made my husband take it off her.

I also knit this hat to trade for some wetbags, which I am more than excited about. I am going to parade my new wetbags around in leiu of my plastic grocery bags.

And I traded this little guy:

for some things from Lil Outlaws. I haven't used any of it yet, but it smells great!

And lastly I *finally* finished this sling for a friend of mine (and I have one listed in the store). I bought the blue fabric something like 2 years ago to make a sling and realized I needed something on the other side because of the embroidery. I have looked and looked and didn't know what to use. Then a friend said the colors they were going with for things were teal/turquoise and brown and I had an epiphany. I think it was worth the wait, it really is pretty!

Other than that I have a few things in the pipeline, I'm going to get working on getting Tweets, Slither, and Intertwined written up. I also have another couple trades, 2 pairs of longies I'm sure I'll be showcasing here, and some slipper socks. I'm getting a Mei Tai and knitting bag out of those. I will say, this trading stuff is fun!

Oh, keep an eye out too, we're stocking a day early in March for Dr. Seuss' birthday and another reading thing. It'll be fun, we're all offerring some items having to do with some of our favorite children's books. Stay tuned!

Life as it happens

2009-01-28T22:11:00.004-06:00

I'm afraid I don't have much to report on right now. I'm in a bit of a funk and it's cold, really cold. Well, I guess it's warmer now, 12F according to the MSN toolbar I somehow acquired. I've been seeing little traffic on the congo and not sure what direction to go. I have a hat I'm knitting for a trade for some wetbags (yippee! no more plastic shopping bags for dirty diapers!) and doing a cat sweater for another customer. So I've got a few things in the gauntlet and I really need to get a few patterns written up. I'm surprisingly excited about the cat sweater. I'll post a picture of the hat I'm knitting too along with the grief it's giving me (well, it's just huge, that's all. I'm duplicating a picture with fair isle designs and either it was knit at a much smaller gauge or out of dk instead of worsted. It almost covers my eyes and I'm about to start decreasing for the crown.)

Speaking of patterns, I'm semi-in-love with this hat pattern I've been working on, "Intertwined". I charted it out months ago and just never got to the actual knitting part. Here it is mostly worked up:

However, it's much too small. Not sure what I was thinking, but I've got to rip it out and reknit on larger needles. Such is my life these days. Anyway, I'm excited about it. I just have to figure out how to get it charted so someone else can duplicate it without spending a fortune on charting software. I have found one free online charting program and once I get the crown figured out I'll probably give that a whirl.

I still need to get Tweets written up and name that other washcloth. You'd think the dead of winter would be wonderfully productive knitting and designing time, but unfortunately the cold and dark tends to also suck out motivation.

Why it Smells Like a Bonfire in My House

2009-01-12T14:38:00.006-06:00

Finally, I fixed the pictures. I think. (2/16)

So here you go, my bonfire story:

We got home last night from my parents' house just before 10pm. I was working on winding down the kids and getting ready for bed when dh decided to start a fire in our fireplace. We have lived in this house since April 05 and have never had a fire. We have had two kids born here, one in the dead of winter, and we've never used the fireplace. It's not because I didn't want to, on the contrary, I would love to have a big fire burning and keeping us warm. But my darling husband has been holding out that someday we'll get a gas insert.

So needless to say, I was surprised when he cleared the candles out and started piling up kindling. He got a flame going and it looked like this:

He went outside and got some logs and it looked like this:

After 20 min or so, it looked like this:

Yes, that's snow. You see, it apparently isn't wanting to draft properly and my upstairs was looking a bit like this:

And these pictures are after I've already opened windows and let it ventilate for a bit. When I went up for these I could actually see without my eyes burning. He was so frustrated, he was snapping at the kids (it was after 10, they were tired and cranky... so was he) and immediately got online to find out what he could do to fix it. Keep in mind now, my husband is a firefighter. Wouldn't it have been nice if the neighbor's called the FD and said it looked like our house was on fire? Not so much.

We have decided to keep it wood burning, because I figure if the world all goes to crap at least we can chop down one of the trees in our yard and keep the kids warm.

So, it smells like a bonfire in here today. :)

Post Holiday Post

2009-01-12T12:18:00.006-06:00

So a bit of an update...

Christmas was nice. I didn't even get close to finishing my projects, but that's okay. I got dh's family done and mine will have to wait. Let's see, I finished one pair of glittens, they turned out nicely.

I actually had to gift them before I got good pictures. I finished the second one up after we finished opening gifts so I don't have a photo of an actual pair. I got started on a second pair for my brother with some fair isle and didn't change the size from these ones, but because of the fair isle it was turning out way too small. So I ripped back to the cuff and have to redo the charts and haven't been motivated enough to do it. I really should though because my brother actually sounds excited to get them, and they don't take too long once you get going.

This is the scarf I made for my other brother, it's the Easiest Farrow Rib Scarf.

Turned out nicely too, I went down a needle size as it was just too loose to be a proper scarf with the yarn I was using, Cascade 220 doubled. The picture isn't that good, again it got gifted before proper photos were taken and I took this one at my mom's house yesterday with her iPhone. He likes it, and that's what matters.

We also had a stocking last Tuesday, which accounts for more of my time spent not blogging. I finished up a set of Tweets that are WAY cute if I do say so myself.

And a goldfish

I have some other things listed as well, including some baby leggings and a hat modeled here by my blue-eyed beauty (who is going to be 1 next week, I can't believe it!).

I have one more story for you, but my laptop is freezing up when I try to upload pictures, and it' just not the same without them.

To Be Continued...

Holy Hannah, Batman! Is that a Glitten?!

2008-12-11T21:07:00.008-06:00

Yes indeed, Robin. It is in fact a glitten. You realize this can only mean one thing... I'm done with all my washcloths. Here's your proof:

And that's not even all of them. Yikes. I dropped the order off today and I'm done! I have to say I have this immense feeling of accomplishment and pride. I put together 44 facial care bags and 2 "For Him" bags and got them out the door today, without too much stress. There was the glitch of not having *nearly* enough rosewater, but that stress only lasted a day or so. Then I talked with the customer who was okay with getting her stuff a couple days later, and voila! I did have to knit 2 washcloths this morning to get it all ready, but pulled it off and left the house around noon. So I decided to reward myself by knitting some wool.

Here are pics of what the gift bags look like, now that I have changed my packaging procedures. Oh, and let me tell you the mess we had here Saturday night trying to fill those cold cream bottles. Pouring didn't work as it was too thick and the necks are too narrow. So I thought the jerky gun would work. Nope, nozzle not small enough. I finally settled on stuffing the cold cream in a plastic bag with the corner cut off and squeezing it into the bottles. Yes, I filled about 30 bottles this way. Then I decided to pour it before it gets that cool so it's still a little runny. That worked for the last few, but there's this *very* fine line between "cool enough it stays mixed" and "too cool that it doesn't pour". But I made it, they're out the door, and the customer is excited. What more could I ask for?

Oh, I wrote a new washcloth pattern too, but don't know what to name it. Any suggestions?

Almost Out of the Woods

2008-12-09T14:44:00.003-06:00

I haven't updated in too long. I waited to put up the Cyber Monday items until they were listed since it was supposed to be kind of an exciting surprise. I will put some pics of those things up later when I don't have to worry about ds spraying vinegar and Windex all over the bathroom.

As for the large order I have going on here... I have enough washcloths to be done but I grossly miscalculated (well, I didn't calculate, and that's where the problem came in) the amount of rosewater I would need so I had to rush ship it from Utah. It should come tomorrow. I have all the cold cream done, packaged, and ready. I just need the rosewater to make the astringent and then I think I have to make a few more lip balms and I'm good to go. Who'd believe it? Other than the freakout of not having enough rosewater (I'm talking I was more than a gallon short. BIG deal), it has gone rather well. Who would've thought I could pull this off?

Finally Ready... I Think.

2008-11-30T22:57:00.003-06:00

We are having a big stocking at Serenity Tree tomorrow for "Cyber Monday". We will be having random listings all day and are having a bit of a "Treasure Hunt" as well. It should be fun.

Anyway, my husband was working on the addition this weekend and installed a door so he had to move the phone line and we didn't have internet for a few days. It was fine, except for this big stocking tomorrow. So I have spent the last couple hours working, but I think I'm finally ready. I have a bunch of stuff up, and a couple I wish I would've had time to finish. But I figure I can use those for the next stocking in 2 weeks.

Included in my "not quite done" list are my Tweets. I will have to get some pictures uploaded tomorrow. I made a cardinal and it even has the crest on it's head. When I showed my husband he even said it was cute, which is saying a lot since I never get a reaction out of him on the things I make. So I'm pleased. I have to put the beak on the yellow bird as well so they're maybe not ready yet, but I was really hoping to get them listed tomorrow. Ah well.

Oh, but I did get my Midnight Sky Longies finished, they turned out really great, I'm really pleased.

I was also hoping to have a goldfish done, but that isn't going to happen either. I got a good part of the tail done and then decided to rip out and do it a little differently. So hopefully I should have a good start on the next stocking. If only my washcloths were done... :) Just 11 to go, minus any my sister completed for me. I *heart* my sister.

No Camera with Something to Share

2008-11-26T12:10:00.004-06:00

My dear husband took the camera to work with him so I can't give you pictures today. Maybe I'll take some with my cell phone, I'm excited to put up what I made.

It's a birdie! A really quick little pattern I'm writing up and will be calling "Tweets". I am going to make a bluebird, cardinal, and canary. Not "officially" of course, but mostly the same bird in blue, red, and yellow. I am going to try to figure out if I can make the little crest thing the cardinals have. This one, the prototype, is a little big for kiddie fingers I think, but it is complete with belly button! My 3yo insisted I give it a belly button.

It's cuter in person, but there you go. And maybe cuter if I had a decent camera. Yeah, that would help.

I haven't made much progress since the weekend on dishcloths. I think I have 15 to go, which is managable at the 2 per day I had myself at, but I didn't finish any on Monday and only 1 yesterday. Yesterday's is pretty cute, it's based off the 2 row Noro scarf that's out there these days. Brooklyn Tweed first introduced me and the Yarn Harlot has made 3 recently. I knew I didn't have enough yellow to make a whole washcloth so I mixed it with white for a bit of a bumblebee effect. I like it.

I was inspired by Melanie to finally work on the pants I was going to sew for my little guy. I took a picture of them with my camera last night, it's hilarious. They don't fit. Not even close. I bought a McCall's pattern and some Thomas the Tank Engine fabric for him. I traced the XS size (3-4) onto some wax paper and got started. It didn't take too long, and probably could've been done in half the time if the baby had stayed asleep. I finished them up, put them on him... and they're HUGE! I'm talking way way too big. The waist goes almost to his nipples and the bottoms are inches too long. How depressing. And I skipped washcloth knitting time to make them! Ah well, I guess I'll have to get a different pattern for Mr. Skinny. I mean seriously, he's 3. He shouldn't be primarily in 24 mos pants...

Hats and a Sweater Shaver Workout

2008-11-20T17:10:00.004-06:00

I started these hats last weekend and had a heck of a time getting the small one finished. I knit the adult one and my mom said it looked too short so I ripped back the crown and tried again. Then I knit a child sized hat and ran out of yarn. So I ripped out to make an infant hat. I knit that, ran out of yarn, reknit, ran out of yarn, reknit... you get the idea. I must have reknit the top of that infant hat a half dozen times before I got it. But alas, here you are...

They turned out really pretty. Susan from knits 'N bits spun the yarn, it's a superwash Merino wool and is soooooo beautiful. It reminded me of berries. I'd knit and the ball would look like a blueberry field, knit some more and the ball looked like strawberries. I'm just in love with it. They'll be going up for sale in the shop for our Cyber Monday stocking.

My other excitement (besides the growing pile of washcloths) is I shaved dd's pants yesterday. I have an Evercare sweater shaver that my sister bought for me at Target. It's amazing. Anyway, after pulling off the large pills I shaved for probably 20 minutes and had to empty the lint collector 3 times. But they look like a new pair of pants, it's amazing!

It's kind of hard to tell, but I had shaved the back of these but not the front yet. If you look at the part that's folded behind (right under the crotch / gusset) you can see the stitch definition that is clearly not there on the leg next to it. Amazing. I'm so excited about them again! So needless to say she has been wearing them the last couple days... which means I'll have to shave again. Oh well, they do need another dip in the lanolizing bath I do believe. But that means I have to take them off...

Current washcloth count: 15

Washcloth Count

2008-11-19T11:33:00.002-06:00

So I counted last night, I think I'm up to 12 washcloths. That leaves me 26 to go, and then another 6 by the next week. I have to knit an average of 2 per day to be done by 12/1. I also have to order some packaging jars. I'm ordering from The Majestic Mountain Sage, they will have everything I need at reasonable prices. I'm finally going to put my lip balm in tubes! My sister is excited. The drawback is you don't get as much, but I suppose people will sacrifice quantity for convenience. She will anyway.

Anyway, I had better get knitting...

Dishcloth Stress

2008-11-11T12:52:00.004-06:00

Okay, so I'm not quite to the point of "stress" yet, but I'm getting worried. I knew this would happen... I'd lose steam. So I picked up a bit yesterday and knit 1/2 a washcloth. I've gotta get cookin! I just have so many things I should be knitting right now. Cabled vest, longies (I'm on the second leg at least... bottom up), glittens, bag, and some Christmas presents yet undecided. Well, being busy is good, right? The difficult part is the weekends are full for a couple weeks so I can't just sit around and let someone else watch my kids while I knit all day on a Saturday. :)

New Stocking!

2008-11-04T22:22:00.004-06:00

So Serenity Tree stocked again today. I was all wigged out because the pants I'm working on aren't done yet. They're gonna be cute - I'll post a picture when I get a good picture of the leg. It's cute. Anyway, our theme was stocking stuffers with Christmas coming up and I had NO idea what to stock. I didn't have time to knit anything... so I decided to sew. And here's what I came up with:

2 Treasure bags and a doll sling. I also have listed a bath bag and semi-custom longies in Peace Fleece "Ancient Fern". I'm super happy with how the "Cowboy" Treasure Satchel came out. I am a little uncertain if the bag should be a little shorter, and initially I thought the handle should've been longer. However, it fits ds perfectly over his head and is the perfect height for him to sling about and get into. It's roomy but not huge, I will say it could lose an inch or two in height, but other than that... perfecto! And my kid wants to keep it, that's a good sign. :) I have it priced at $15 so we'll see if it sells. I have a feeling my kids are going to end up with a bunch of unsold items. I have a feeling that's where the "Denim" longies are going... dd needs some pants in a BIG way! So hop on over to my store and pick up some cute stuff for your kids!

Weekend Knitting

2008-10-28T15:13:00.005-05:00

On Friday I updated my Facebook status to say in so many words I'm going out of town for the weekend and knitting a lot. Well, you be the judge:

I got started on my "Orange Day", which is Tikru's "Green Day" pattern knit in Peace Fleece "Glastnost Gold". It's a Christmas present and going rather nicely. It is only written in one size so I'm hoping it'll fit. Once I get a bit further along I'll put it on a scrap yarn and try it on myself to see if I think it will fit. I'll probably cry if it doesn't, but it'll be my own fault. :)

I also got 4 washcloths knit out of my Cable Rib Dishcloth pattern. I did garter stitch instead of seed stitch because it's faster and I have to knit 33 more washcloths. Speed over elegance at this point. I have a feeling I'm going to be mighty sick of knitting these by the time all is said and done. But I have a good start, so I'm optimistic.

I have also started a new pair of longies for the store, my Midnight Sky Longies. Here's what I got done yesterday along with the charting for the fair isle at the cuff:

I love printing off graph paper and figuring out the charts, it's so rewarding, like you're inventing something! I also found a site where you can make charts up on the computer (like for this cabled hat I'm working on) for publishing. That was an exciting find. Oh, and I have the Reversible Cable Rib scarf off being tested. A lot going on these days I guess.

So back to weekend knitting. It was a beautiful weekend. The guys went fishing and I stayed at my grandma's house with the kids. We watched some Disney Channel and played in the leaves. Here's where I spent some time knitting:

I raked up a pile of leaves with an extremely inadequate rake while my dad's puppy attacked the leaves and rake... and as you can see, my son. All in all it was a beautiful fall weekend. Aah... fall. I only wished it lasted a little longer.

I Heart My Postal Worker

2008-10-24T17:30:00.005-05:00

This is a little late, but I left the post office so frustrated on Wednesday, which I guess isn't a first. The post office is never a "fun" place to go, but this was even better than normal. First off, look at the right side of your screen. See where my "profile" information is? What does it say... oh yea, mother of 2 kids is mentioned, right. Well, to specify I have a son who turned 3 last week and a daughter who turned 9 mos this week. So they're pretty little and oh let me tell you I LOVE carting them to the post office of all places since it's my favorite place to go on a day off.

So we walk in, there's one guy ahead of me in line and 3 postal workers helping people. So it should be quick, right? Then the dreaded happens... when it's my turn one lady goes into the back, leaving 2 postal workers. There's Dan and another-lady-who-shall-remain-unnamed. Guess who opens up? The Unnamed. Now it shouldn't be too bad. I have 2 priority mail packages to send out that are all ready to go (thanks PayPal!) and one box to send off.

It was a scarf for Mandi of Yellow Brick Lane, we did a scarf swap on a board we're on and we ended up eachother's partners. It's knit out of Cascade 220 Heathers and is the Reversible Cable Rib Scarf, a new pattern I'm almost done writing up. (She likes it.)

So anyway, back to the post office. So I walk up to Ms. Unnamed. And she has a reputation. She's ... s l o w ... I mean... ... s l o w . But it's okay. I only need postage on one little box, should be easy. So I hand her the package and say I'd like to mail this First Class (I'm cheap). She says "Is there anything liquid, fragile... blah blah blah inside?" No. "Would you like to mail this Priority Mail? It'll get there a couple days sooner." Um... no. I said I wanted to mail it First Class. (She got it today, by the way.) "Would you like insurance or delivery confirmation?" No. "Okay, it'll be..." I think it was like $2.53 or something. I tell her the others are ready to go and hand her my check card. She hands it back and asks me to sign it. Um... it's signed. "It's faded. I need you to sign it again." Remember the part about me having two small children? Well let's review, one is 9 mos so where do you think she is? Yep, you've got it... in my arms. So I juggle her around and REsign the dumb card. I figure, "Well, she watched me sign it so she can just watch me sign the paper and we'll be good" because I'm irritated with her for making me resign it in the first place because if you looked closely and squinted a little you could still read it. I put the card back in my wallet, zip it shut, and she says, "I haven't run it yet." Um, what? Why didn't you run it, have me resign it, and then just let me keep it? Why hand it back to me, have me sign it, hand it back to her, run it, hand it back to me to put away and then hand me the receipt to sign and hand back to her? Um... seem a little redundant?

Anyway, I know it's stupid but I always think it's completely asinine to have me sign the card in front of them. If it really were stolen, well now my version of Jane Doe's signature is on the back of the card. But, Mandi got her scarf. And in her exact words, "It is so squishy and nice." Yep, I rock. As long as I mail things from home.

Blogger Stupidity

2008-10-21T16:55:00.002-05:00

And for you Blogger savvy folks out there, how do I get ahold of a fellow Blogger? I am trying to find Jackie that posted below about testing a scarf pattern... but I can't figure out how in the world of blogs to find her blog or any contact information. ???

Growth and Growing Pains

2008-10-21T16:32:00.005-05:00

Well, Serenity Tree has officially had it's second stocking... today. It has been a little disappointing as none of us have sold much, but I hear the economy is to blame and people just aren't spending much. It's a bummer because I was really hoping this would be a good opportunity for my business to grow. Well, we'll wait and see.

On another note, I made some bath products for a local woman who bought some for her and her mother-in-law and they both love it. Enough that the mother-in-law is ordering gift bags for all her nurses... all 38 of them. This is fabulous! Except... it also means I have to knit 38 washcloths between now and the beginning of December. Yikes! I have about 45 days in which to finish them. So... it'll be a sprint, but I can't complain. This really is an opportunity for growth.

And here is a pic of the pants I just finished for the STC stocking this week:

The Big Day

2008-10-06T20:20:00.003-05:00

Well, tomorrow is the big day! Grand Opening of Serenity Tree! Am I ready? Well, I guess. I have all my listings up, though I'm not altogether thrilled with my selection: some diapers (including one free for shipping), a turtle butt, wrap, blankie, and a custom slot. I thought there was one more thing, but I guess not. I do have a pair of britches almost done, but I should wait to list them for next time or just keep them for dd. She's desperately in need of some pants. 17 hours and counting!

Grand Opening Preparations and Changes

2008-09-25T20:08:00.003-05:00

Our store officially has it's first stocking on October 7. Hooray! But suddenly I feel under the gun. I have a Turtle Butt I'm almost done with and 3 diapers finished, of which one will be FFS.

So far I have been packaging all my bath products in glass bottles and jars for the reusability and recycling factors. I'm thinking of discontinuing anything in bottles and packaging the other things in plastic ziploc-type bags, or maybe find some type of biodegradable bag to use instead. The glass just makes so many more shipping headaches... they're fragile and heavy. I'm thinking to continue offerring jars and bottles locally but selling on the shop only things that can be packaged differently.

Progress Pics

2008-09-16T16:52:00.004-05:00

Now that the kids are napping, I'm posting pictures instead of winding that last skein...

Enjoy!

Finishaphobia

2008-09-16T15:59:00.003-05:00

So what's the deal? I am *almost* done with my Tilted Duster (IK Fall 07). I finished the skirt portion and just have to knit the collar, attach buttons, and sew on the sleeves (which are already knit and blocked)... but I started another project. Crazy, I know. But I have to wind another skein of yarn in order to work on that, and the baby is just too clingy today to let me set her down long enough to wind an entire skein into a ball. So I started on the Hoodie Baby Blanket for a friend who is due in about 7 weeks. My mom is making her a sleep sack out of the same yarn so they'll match. Nothing exciting, just Bernat Cottontots. The yarn is really soft. The sleeper is just a really light blue and the blanket I'm making is a variegated yarn - blue, white, yellow, and green - with solid trim. I'm hoping she has extra blue left over from her project that I can use for trim so I don't have to buy another skein. Sneaky, aren't I? Anyway, I'll post a picture of both the sweater and the blanket later. I'm tired of my computer freezing up when I try to upload pictures. Blah.

Reversible Cable Rib Scarf

2008-09-13T15:16:00.005-05:00

I am writing up a pattern for a reversible scarf with mini cables on it. I am in need of a couple people to test it, any takers? I'm not at home so I can't post a photo, but it's really pretty easy.

I have a few patterns in my head I want to get out, but with the new congo opening up October 7 I am finding I have little time to knit. Plus I'm trying to finish up the Tilted Duster I started last fall. I'm only a couple repeats on the skirt away from starting the collar, and then I just need to sew on the sleeves. Hooray!

I've sewn 3 diapers already for stocking the store, I think one will be a FFS item and another may end up in a collab with One Bum at a Time. I would have another done probably had I not broken my needle sewing a bag for dh's trip to the Boundary Waters out of his old Carharts. I was doing well until I tried sewing in the drawstring so it didn't come out. That snapped it, and I can't find the ones I just bought, they're probably buried on my sewing desk underneath the fabric scraps I've got there. I'll try to post some pics if I can get my computer to stop freezing every time I try to upload.

Super Duper Raffle

2008-09-13T13:50:00.002-05:00

I've been meaning to post this for a week or more... There's a lady on a yarn list I'm on who I hear has fabulous yarns. She's having a raffle on her blog, and you can enter to win a huge slough of yarn. If you have $ in your PayPal... tickets are cheap and would be well worth it!

Cable Rib Dishcloth

2008-09-05T15:07:00.004-05:00

Here's an easy pattern for a dishcloth that isn't so boring to knit your eyes cross, yet simple enough to be nearly mindless. :) The pictures aren't that good as it was nearing evening when I took them and we use CFLs and they make for crummy pictures. (I keep having problems getting blogger to upload my pics without freezing, so I'll try again...)

Requirements: Approx 1 oz Worsted Weight Cotton Yarn
Size 7 straight or circular needles
Tapestry Needle

Pattern Notes:

Cable 2 (c2): Skip the first stitch on your left needle and knit into the front of the second stitch. Without dropping it from your needle knit into the front of the first stitch. Let both stitches fall off your needle.

Cable Pattern:
Row 1: k4, (p1, k2) 10 times, p1, k4
Row 2: k4, (k1, p2) 10 times, k5
Row 3: k4, (p1, c2) 10 times, p1, k4
Row 4: k4, (k1, p2) 10 times, k5

Directions:
Cast on 39 sts. You may adjust your stitch count for a larger or smaller cloth as long as it remains a multiple of 3, plus 9 (in this case 10 x 3 = 30 + 9 = 39)
Knit 4 rows garter stitch
Work Cable Pattern 9 times.
Work row 1 of cable pattern once more. Work 4 rows garter stitch and bind off.
Weave in ends.

FOs

2008-08-27T11:12:00.004-05:00

I figured I should at least post pics of what I have finished so far...

And the reason I haven't had much time to blog...

Well, my computer keeps locking up when I try to upload the picture. Basically I have a 20'x20'x12' hole in my backyard. We're remodeling... again. :)

Long Time...

2008-08-27T10:55:00.002-05:00

Well I've been meaning to post...

I got some llama yarn in the mail the other day. Man, is this stuff soft!!! I'm excited to use it and want to use it on myself (since I never make anythng for myself) but am having a hard time committing to a pattern. Maybe I'll just hoard it for awhile. :)

What else, I'm just finishing up some projects, my Tilted Duster that I started last November and some Christmas gifts. I'm trying to be ahead of the game this year, I have my sil, fil, and mil done, just leaving my bil, mom, dad, 2 bros, and sister. So... I've got a ways to go yet. What I SHOULD be doing is getting some things prepped for Serenity Tree's Grand Opening on October 1. I am so excited and hope to start gaining a fan base. I do have to figure out what I'm going to do with my website, but that's another story.

New and Exciting News

2008-08-11T15:03:00.003-05:00

So my big new is... in October I am going to be joining a HyenaCart Collab called "Serenity Tree" with several other ladies. Our first stocking should be somewhere around Oct 1. I am very excited because I think this will be a good opportunity for things to take off a little for me. We will be actively advertising, plus there are some other more established WAHMs there.

Other news, I finished up Em's Shetland Shorty yesterday, though it had a bit of a mishap. I was letting my toddler help me with weaving and trimming ends and he cut the corner of the tie off... there were a few minutes of sheer panic, and a good hour of unstable emotions, but it's all fixed, washed, blocked, and drying.

Oh, other exciting news, I am officially selling Turtle Butts now. I mailed the licensing agreement back to Adorabubble Knits this weekend. Hoorah! It's a neat pattern, very unique and quite adorable. The nice thing is it's something cute you can do for boys too. Most "cute" patterns are girly (her reason for doing this pattern in the first place!).

First Dye Job

2008-07-28T16:13:00.008-05:00

Well, I decided to take the plunge and dye up the skein of yarn I have had sitting around meaning to dye for a couple months. Here's what I ended up with:

I grabbed "tropical punch" because the package is blue (I was in a hurry) but uh... it's really red. So I had 2 red colors and one yellow. I wanted rainbow yarn so I used blue food coloring and then after I microwaved it the first time I was unimpressed with the yellow...

...so I added some yellow food coloring.

Because of that the yellow is a little uneven, I had transferred it from wax paper on the counter to a Pyrex dish for microwaving so I didn't get the yellow uniformly through the yarn. Oh well, live and learn right? I was going for a rainbow and would say that's pretty much what I got. A little uneven, but that's ok with me. I don't like color pooling so I guess unevenness should help, right?

Skeined up... Mini-Swatch

Now I just need to figure out what to make with it, it's about 4 oz. Suggestions?

After the Weekend

2008-07-28T12:24:00.002-05:00

Well, I made it home. I was up in Grand Marais for the North Shore Dragon Boat Festival in Grand Marais. It was fun, but our team didn't do so well. Anyway, it created a bit of a pinch to get things done, but I did it! I had a few orders last week that I got off and I'm so proud of myself for it!

While I was gone I made a new drawstring for dd's Turtle Butt (it actually ties now), started one for ds, and plugged away a bit on the Shetland Shorty I'm working on for SIL. So now I've spent all morning on the computer reading about the Ravelympics and figuring out what projects I'm going to make, which means figuring out what I'm making everyone for Christmas. I've also got to work on some web development stuff here. I'm working on my diaper and wool pages on my computer and will wait until they contain most of what they need to before I put them up live. Stay tuned!

Victory

2008-07-22T20:53:00.003-05:00

La la la! I figured out how to post a photo!

Anyway, here is Turtle Butt all done. It's on my babe at this very moment, and oh how I love 100Purewool. The only problem is my drawstring was too short... imagine that. I always make my drawstrings too short because I don't want to "waste yarn". Customers' drawstrings are always fine, it's just my own. Anyway, isn't it cool? I have to make another now for my toddler. I think I'm going to do it with the same brown and a blues/browns variegated yarn (Patons "Wedgewood" colorway) only switch up the pieces so the inside of the turtle squares will be brown instead of variegated.

Anyway, I have to get the kids to bed. Dh is gone until probably after 10 so I get to do all the fun stuff tonight. :)

Website Update

2008-07-21T17:30:00.002-05:00

I have been toying with switching up my website. I have been doing the coding on my website myself and find it hard to learn html while taking care of young children - I just don't have the time. So I was considering changing from a dotcom (well, dotnet) site to using either HyenaCart or Etsy to sell my wares. Well I was messing around with my files on my hosting account and found out I can do some editing there, and can put in pictures. That was one thing I was really having a hard time with, getting pictures to link properly. So after discussing cost with my husband I've decided to give it a little work and see if I can't get OneBigHappy.net up and functioning, at least a little better than it has been. I feel like once I have a relatively decent website set up I can really start promoting myself a little better and might actually make a bit of a profit once in awhile on it.

So, keep your eyes peeled... diapers and woolies will be making their way onto my website soon!

Pattern Swooning

2008-07-14T19:59:00.000-05:00

There is something wrong with me, it must be a serious disease. I saw a picture of a Danish Tie Shawl and I'm in love. I should blame it on SpiffyKnits, but I don't even know her. I think I got to her blog from MVFF because she donated a raffle prize. But seriously, I HAVE to make one! It's so cute... and extremely functional. See, I live in the frigid north... Minnesota, USA... and it gets cold here. And in case no one has noticed, all things living-related are costing more and more and more (ie natural gas to heat my house). That said, we keep our house at a balmy 68 degrees Farenheit during the daytime, and 65 at night. With that information one can see the practicality of having a shawl around the house, and with two kids, a shawl that stays put is even better.

On to other news, I got a couple of things done on Friday! I got a batch of lip balm made, but not enough to fill the order I have at the Color Wheel Salon. Bah. I didn't have enough containers on hand... which reminds me I should run and go pick some more up tonight. I also got the lotion made for the raffle, but she didn't give it away... so I don't know if I needed to do that or not, but it's done. I was kind of proud of myself for that one! And I got a picture taken. The bath bag and facial bag both come with a hand knit washcloth and I got two of those knit over the weekend. I made a Vine Lace Washcloth for both of them, I am pretty happy with how they turned out. The pattern was a little putsy at first, and required paying attention to what row you are on, but they're cute. I "blocked" one a little and was disappointed to see that it looks like the color in the yarn ran a little. I used a natural colored yarn that has little sections kind of "painted" in light blue, purple, and pink. (Note to self: Figure out how in the WORLD to post photos.) I do still need to make some cold cream because I have an order for that. Seriously, it's some great stuff. I have a friend who can hardly use anything to clean her face because she breaks out or gets a rash, and my cold cream works for her. It makes me proud. :)

Progress... Or lack thereof

2008-07-11T13:34:00.005-05:00

It seems things never get done as they should. I have yet to make the lip balms for the shop, the kids keep getting "in the way". I have a toddler and an infant and getting anything accomplished can sometimes be a real challenge.

I also need to get a picture of some stuff over to Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm. Her uncle was injured terribly and she is raffling off her entire fiber stash to raise money for his new wheelchair. It's amazing. You can read about it on her blog. Anyway, I'm donating a bath bag (bath salt, almond lotion, lip balm, and hand-knit washcloth) as a raffle prize. It's not much, but I really want to help them out, it's an amazing story. I'm also going to buy a ticket and secretly hope with all my being that I'm the grand prize winner! I don't know what I'd ever do with all that yarn, but I might just stroke it and build shelves to admire it.

I am also testing a pattern for Melanie of Adorabubble Knits, her "Turtle Butt" pattern. It's a soaker and has kind of a turtle shell design on it. It's knitting up pretty quickly. Now that I'm about to divide for the leg holes we'll really see. :) As soon as I figure out how to upload a picture into the text space I'll post a couple pictures.

About OBH

2008-07-07T21:51:00.000-05:00

One Big Happy was started in the fall of 2006 selling soft baby carriers (wraps and slings) and natural(ish) bath products. I have since moved into diapers and knitting wool covers - knitting has become my love. I could spend hours on Ravelry drooling over yarns and patterns, it's really pathetic. I make diapers using the Rita's Rump Pockets pattern and knit using the Adorabubble Britches pattern and I really like them both. The diaper I can put on both my infant and my toddler with no probems. The britches have a fantastic fit, and Melanie provides stellar support.

As far as my bath products go, I love making them and feel so much better about using them than the commercial products out there. Someone contacted me with concerns about using borax as the emulsifier, but the information I find about it's safety is conflicting (imagine that!). I'm looking for a different emulsifier and might try Dr. Bronner's Castile soap, but I'm not sure how to find the correct ratios except by trial and error, and it gets expensive to use that much oil if you're gonna just throw it away.

Anyway, my lip balm rocks and I really need to make some. A local beauty shop buys it from me (her son loves it for his exema) and she needs some. With everything that has been going on lately I just haven't had the time to make more. I do have the tubs and I *think* all the ingredients, so we're just waiting on a spare hour when the kiddos aren't in the way. :)