Camping

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!

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

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

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"

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

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

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. :)