Progress

I'm on my second round of pineapples. They will double in quantity each time I repeat the pattern. Right now it sits at about 30" in diameter. Only about 100 hours of work left...


I have to say though, I think I'm doing remarkably well considering I don't have a pattern. Mine looks a bit squished compared to the original (the center portion), but once blocked, that will stretch quite a bit.

Oh yeah...Christmas!

After posting my other blog entry, I realized I'd totally neglected to share the Yarnworks Christmas with you. So here is a brief photo journal of our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We each opened 1 gift on Christmas Eve and made a gingerbread house (okay, we assembled it...ever since the from scratch gingerbread house of 1999, Mr. Yarnworks and I have been perfectly happy to buy premade and assemble our gingerbread houses). Then on Christmas Day, the girls ripped into their gifts and it was general madness. Just like Christmas should be...

The Tablecloth

Now with the holiday brouhaha is over and Mr. Yarnworks is back at Camp Shelby, it's time to work on the tablecloth.

Back at the end of October, I was commissioned to turn a 15" doily into a 4 1/2 foot tablecloth...with no pattern to guide me. But you know how I love a challenge!

Here is the original doily. This woman's grandmother made it, but she has since passed away. In their family, it was tradition for the grandmother to make the bride a crocheted tablecloth as a wedding gift. This woman's sister just got married and has no tablecloth.


Here is my progress as of a couple weeks ago. I've added a couple inches since then, but haven't taken pictures yet.

The stitches look thicker and there are two reasons for that. The first is that the size thread that was used doesn't appear to be around anymore...it's thinner than size 20, but not quite as thin as size 30. Size 20 seemed closer, so that's what I went with. The other reason is that I believe it needs to be blocked. For my non-knitting/crocheting friends, that means it needs to be wet and stretched into its proper shape. That will open up my pineapples to look like the original. I will probably block it midway just to know that my measurements are correct. I'd hate to crochet it to 4 1/2 feet and block it and it ends up being 5 feet! Better to block it around 3 1/2-4 feet and see what happens.

I have no major plans between now and New Year's, so I'm hoping to get a significant chunk of this project done. Today will be spent mostly working on it...tomorrow too probably. I've already spent about an hour and a half on it today. I plan to take pictures later tonight or in the morning to share with you.

Why the big thrust before New Year's? Because we're all headed to G's house for a very knitterly New Year's. At midnight, G, J, and I will all cast on the Shetland Tea Shawl from A Gathering of Lace by Meg Swanson. Our goal is to cast on one challenging project each New Year's at midnight, and finish by the following New Year's. We all plan to work on the same pattern and the same time, but in different yarns. My yarn choice this time? This lovely alpaca/silk blend in "Eggplant."

Not A Creature Was Stirring....

No creatures stirring here. It's just the mad clicking of knitting needles as I finish up the last of the Christmas knitting. The big project is now done and I'm trying very hard to resist starting a quickie last-minute gift project. I'm a mad woman, I swear...

But the big project was Mr. Yarnworks' fingerless gloves to take with him to Iraq. When the days are 120 degrees, the 70 degree nights feel outright chilly. These were made with Knitpicks Essential in "Fawn." We even tried the burn test to see if the 25% nylon would melt it. Nope. It self-extinguishes like any self-respecting wool. His hands are at least safe from the yarn grafting to his hand if he finds himself in any trouble over there.

I have not tucked in the ends yet. My excuse is that I want to make sure they fit first. Yep. That's my excuse. Yes, I know I'll eventually have to do it. Yes, I know time will be limited from the time he opens the gift and the time he leaves. Yes, I know I'm asking for trouble.

Mr. Yarnworks is home from Camp Shelby, Mississippi for a quick visit before his official deployment to Iraq. He's been gone 2 months for training so far, so we're thrilled to get another dose of him before he leaves again...this time for a year or more.

Big Sister is VERY excited about Santa. This is the first year she really seems to get it. Baby Yarnworks just thinks everything (tree, lights, ornaments, presents, treats) is rather cool and will probably be crushed when it's all wisked away shortly after Christmas. Hopefully the remaining toys will make up for the loss.

Simple Handspun Toddler Hat

First, hand spin some beautiful fiber on a drop spindle....poorly. Your first time spinning is the perfect opportunity to use this pattern. Be sure it's a single ply thick and thin (by default, 'cause this spinning thing is harder than it looks). Be sure to attempt to set the twist. Fail miserably.

Got it? Great!

Now, cast on 60. Or a multiple of 6 on size US8 double pointed needles to fit the head of the hat recipient. Be sure it's a child. A young one. Think back to your first memory. How old were you? Great. Now make sure the child getting your hat is younger than that. We want to make sure they won't remember the ridicule of wearing your first spinning attempt.

Divide onto 3 needles (20 stitches on each).

Join in the round, taking care not to twist the stitches. There's enough twist in the yarn. We don't need more twists. Trust me on this one.

K1, P1 rib for 6 rows.

Continue in stockinette for 20 or so rows.

Begin decreasing 6 stitches per row.

Dec. Row 1: k8, k2tog around (54) Dec. Row 2: k7, k2tog around (48)
Dec. Row 3: k6, k2tog around (42)
Dec. Row 4: k5, k2tog around (36)
Dec. Row 5: k4, k2tog around (30)
Dec. Row 6: k3, k2tog around (24)
Dec. Row 7: k2, k2tog around (18)
Dec. Row 8: k2, k2tog around (12)
Dec. Row 9: k1, k2tog around (6)

Pull yarn through remaining loops and pull closed. Secure.

Have leftover handspun? Try crocheting or knitting a flower to accent the hat.

Handspun

Back when I was pregnant with Baby Sister, I picked up a drop spindle and some fiber from my favorite LYS (Athena Fibers). Well, quite frankly, I didn't get very far.

Now I've picked it back up and something has "clicked." I think I'm *finally* getting it. I've made a hat! Pattern forthcoming...

Big Girl Bed!

Baby Sister Yarnworks is now officially a "Big Girl." I guess she'll need a new name soon!

Out with the crib. In with the bed!

Giving Thanks....

We postponed our festivities until yesterday due to illnesses running rampant, but we managed to have an excellent feast anyway.

Mr. Yarnworks is still in Mississippi mobilizing to head over to Iraq, so the day was spent with friends. I have better pictures, but I feel this one best depicts the meal. G* finally getting her appetite back after being out of action for awhile. J* quietly enjoying her vegetarian fare. Big Sister licking her finger (or her plate or her sister's finger or plate). The gentleman is a new friend of G's that I just met yesterday. Very cool guy. He even did the dishes after the meal! I keep inviting him over to my house, but somehow he thinks Mr. Yarnworks might take issue with that. *sigh* Meanwhile, Baby Yarnworks was napping, which altogether made the meal more enjoyable. She joined us towards dessert. She LOVES pumpkin pie!


The girls with full bellies...

One day Big Sister will look at the camera. :)

Black Friday

What do you do when you don't feel like battling crowds on Black Friday???

You buy yarn and stitch markers for your winter knitting!

JL Yarnworks will be adding these beauties (and more!) throughout the day. Get your items quickly before they sell! Stop back to add to your shipment. If you purchase multiple items throughout the day, I will send you a revised invoice combining shipping or will refund the difference.

Happy Shopping!

When It Rains, It Pours

It's been an exceptionally long 2 months since I last posted. I feel I owe you all an explanation, but I feel like I need to refer to a calendar to be thorough. So much has happened.

Let's start with the happy news, shall we? First, I launched a new product line to go with Cat Bordhi's new book. Then, this product line got some great reviews from Wendy Knits and Judy Becker (of Magic Cast-On fame). The next thing I knew, I had more orders than I could dream of! I sold something like 250 sets in one week! Wild! I loved every second of it, but was relieved when I had time to sit down with my kids again. And was exceptionally grateful to these fine ladies for their kind words, as they have helped pad my business account so that I can launch some new products! I can't wait to show you what's been on the drawing board.

As sales began to dwindle back down to normal, I finally had a chance to catch my breath. But it wasn't long before bad news struck.

On September 28th, I got a call from my mother. My dad was in the hospital. No news about his condition, but we've been worried about him for awhile. I saw him last July when he came for a 2 night visit. Here he is with the munchkins at Falls Park here in Sioux Falls.

Walking around the park wore him out. He had trouble catching his breath. It was our only real outing during his trip. He'd also had other health concerns that I won't get into here, but when he'd been to the doctor two years prior, they weren't able to find anything wrong.

After going into the hospital on Friday, it was Wednesday before my brother and I were able to get details from his doctors. Apparently Dad had not listed us as his children when admitted, so they wouldn't talk to us at first. Wednesday, my brother finally got someone to talk to him. The news wasn't good. Dad had 2-4 weeks at best. I immediately booked a flight for a week out...the soonest and cheapest I could travel. Moments after booking my flight, my brother called me back. Dad had crashed. His lungs had given out. The doctors had put him on a breathing machine, but my brother told them not to take heroic measures and he was taken off the machine. My brother called his neighbors who were really close to him and were the ones that took him to the hospital to begin with. They made it to the hospital moments later. The nurse asked them if he was talking to them. He was sleeping and they were shocked that he might be able to talk. She woke him up for them and asked Dad if he was in any pain. He said no and then acknowledged that his neighbors were there. Then he drifted back to sleep. The held his hands and rubbed his arms until he passed later that night. It was peaceful, and he was with people who loved him.

But sadly, my trip to say goodbye ended up being a trip to handle his affairs.

Dad was not a religious man. Nor was he the type of guy who would want a big fuss. So instead of traditional services, we had a gathering in his home followed by a nice dinner out in his honor.

This is his perpetual orchid. This was his pride and joy. It's been blooming for about 2 years now. A second stalk of flowers bloomed while we were there. I wanted to bring it home with me, but the thing is HUGE. That's the top of his entertainment center. It stretches nearly the full length.

Isn't it beautiful?

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why I miss North Carolina. This is Dad's house. Can't see it through the trees? Exactly!

The trip itself was bitter-sweet. I hadn't seen my brother in over 6 years. He's a goofy thing, but I love him.

So, after my trip, I had a craft show. I had 2 evenings to cram some production and cram I did, with the help of my friend J. J comes to my rescue a lot, doesn't she? Thanks J!

The craft show itself was a bit of a flop. I spent more than I sold. :) But that's ok; it was fun! Definitely a learning experience. And considering I only had about 2 days of production, I think I did fairly well.

The day AFTER the craft show, it got pretty chilly, so we turned on our furnace. Almost immediately, our carbon monoxide detector went nuts. We quickly gathered some warm clothes and evacuated. Mr. Yarnworks stayed behind (outside) to wait for the gas company and I took the girls to a friend's house. Turns out the furnace was leaking both Carbon Monoxide AND gas! Eek! The gas company condemned it. So we stayed with my friend G. G rocks guys. Truly, she does. We ended up living with her for 2 weeks waiting until the furnace installation guys got us heat. (Although we're STILL waiting for them to finish finish. *sigh*)

In the midst of living with G, Mr. Yarnworks was mobilized with his National Guard unit. They're currently in Mississippi, but in a couple months will be heated to Iraq for a year to 15 months. Here he is with big sister a couple days before he left.

He headed to Mississippi on October 28th. I hear from him almost daily, though he's always too tired to talk long. He's doing well. The whole unit is hard at work getting ready to deploy. He's been very pleased with this unit. Everyone seems to have their act together, all the way up the chain of command. Much better than the last time he deployed!

Of course, Halloween also came and went while we were still living with G. We had big plans to go trick-or-treating. Big sister was a mermaid. Little sister was a penguin after her favorite movie, Happy Feet! But, there was trouble.

My little penguin was NOT happy. Not one little bit. She wasn't happy being held. She wasn't happy on the floor. She wasn't happy in her high chair. She was just intent on being unpleasant. So she and I stayed home (she went to bed early!). My friend, T, picked up big sister to take her out with her daughter, big sister's best friend. It ended up working out well, but I was disappointed to not be able to take little sister out for her first trick-or-treating. (We stayed home last year since she was so young.)

So, we finally got moved back into the house on Saturday, November 3. This was the same day that little sister was diagnosed with the croup. I get us moved back into the house, order a pizza, and start running the shower so I can steam up the bathroom for little sister. I check back on the bathroom and there's no steam. Oh wait, there's no hot water! Ack! The gas had been cut to the hot water heater when they replaced the furnace. Joy. I called the landlord, but had to put little sister to bed before he got to the house to turn the gas back on to the hot water heater and light the pilot. Sunday and Monday pass without too much drama. But Monday night, I get chilly, so I went to check the thermostat. Now, me being chilly is nothing new. I'm a Carolina girl in South Dakota. I'm always chilly. But I realized quickly that the furnace wasn't coming on. It's now 1am. I call the heating people and leave them a message on their after-hours voicemail. I wait up.

At 2:30am they call me back and explain that by the time they get anyone out there, it'd be morning anyway. And that they'd planned to come out first thing to continue work on the furnace, so I should just make do until morning. I was beyond frustrated.

I try really hard to be a good mother. And yet, here I am, alone, with two sick kids (one with a cold, one with croup), and there's no heat in my house. I can't keep my babies warm. One of the basic necessities of life....not freezing to death, right? *sigh* But, my only two options at this point were to hope for the best and go to bed or to wake up the girls and take them out in the 20 degree night back to G's house. I opted to hope for the best. I gave little sister extra blankets. Big sister was in my bed, so I knew she'd be fine. And I went to bed.

I woke up at 7:30am and the furnace is running! What?!? Am I just an idiot? Was it working the whole time?

I get up and check it out. The door at the top of the stairs is open, but I know I'd closed it to help conserve heat in the main living area. I check the front door. Unlocked. I'd forgotten to lock the door before I went to bed! Did the heating guys come out while I slept?!?! I called. Yes, they had. What?!?!? They didn't call or ring the doorbell. Maybe they knocked, but I would never have heard that from my bedroom. I was completely freaked out. Some stranger was in my house while I was asleep with my girls! I cannot believe this company. Truly. Beyond only working 2-4 hours a day every other day. Beyond never giving me notice of when they expect to be given free run of the house. Beyond all that, they let themselves into my house at 5am. Un-freakin-believable.

Since then? Big sister dropped my cell phone into a sink full of water. Little sister had to go back to the doctor because her croup wasn't letting up. And my landlords did a walkthrough of the house after I sent them a list of complaints about repairs not being done and just today were supposed to come by to fix those things, and didn't show up.

So it looks like tomorrow I will be making some phone calls to see what my rights as a tenant are when I have a ceiling that has been leaking for a year and a half and surely has mold growing. Not to mention a half dozen other complaints that have gone ignored.

Is it any wonder that I haven't had a lot of time to spend working on JL Yarnworks?

New Pathways for Sock Knitters And The Letter Stitch Markers To Match

There is a new, phenomenal sock knitting book on the market now. It's by the same groovy chick that wrote Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles, Cat Bordhi. Now, if you thought that Socks Soar was a great book, just wait until you crack open this one. I'm not going to write a review here. So many wonderful reviews have already been written. But let me just say... Wow! Who is this woman and how does she come up with this stuff?


Moving on, a helpful tool Cat suggests in this book is a set of letter stitch markers. She will often tell you to knit up to a certain point near one of these letters so that no matter what size sock you're doing, you know exactly where she wants you to be in your sock.

Funny. I make stitch markers! I think I can handle this nifty little aid. And now, they're available to everyone else who may need a set (or 3) as well. I have a dozen different letter styles and matching number sets in the JL Yarnworks store right now. Here are a couple of samples.



Of course, I never work alone.


Baby Yarnworks can now climb onto the table. She's much more helpful up there. You absolutely cannot flip over boxes of beads from the floor. No ma'am. What help could she possibly be from down there? *sigh*

The Art of Knitting 4 Kids: A DVD to Help Teach Children to Knit

I took my daughters to the library last week to pick up a couple of books I had on hold and also to see if they had any DVD worth borrowing. We came up short in the adult DVDs (those in the section for grown-ups, not to be confused with the naughty sort), so we hit the children's section. We found Cinderella 3 (something *I've* been wanting to watch), Cats & Dogs, and The Art of Knitting 4 Kids.

Of course you know I practically squealed as I leapt towards the knitting DVD. I looked it over. It's put out by Leisure Arts....nice. It has several segments utilizing children, adults, and cartoons.....very nice. It's 99 minutes long, but segmented into short bits....SOLD! Or, erm, borrowed. Now, the oldest of the Yarnworks daughters is only 4 and the DVD said it was for children 5+, but it was blog fodder and it was free, so we took it home.

The first section features a 7 year old little boy named Ryan who teaches you how to knit. It's just him sitting there showing you how to knit, step by step. He's cute and all, but Big Sister Yarnworks was gone before he finished his first segment.

The second section features and older woman telling two children a tale about a brother and sister that learn to make their own knitting needles and later how to knit. Egads people, even these two kids on screen look bored! Don't get me wrong, it's a great tale, but it's long and drawn out and could someone pay these kids a little more to pretend to be alert and attentive? They liven up a bit when they get to make their own knitting needles out of dowels and a pencil sharpener. And are certainly attentive when they get to pick out a ball of bright yarn and get started.

This is where my oldest finally got interested. As she taught the steps of knitting, she told a tale and cartoon characters would appear in the background. As she knit, a shephard would reach his crook under a fence, gently grab a poor stuck lamb around its shoulders, pull it back under the fence towards him, and then the freed lamb would leap away. Her needle would go under the loop, grab the yarn, come back through the loop, and then the knit loop would leap off the needle. Similar tales were told as she made a slip-knot, cast-on, and cast-off. Very cute and memorable. I teach many adults that would benefit from this kind of story to help them remember what to do and in what order.

The following section is all about making a toy ball using a striped rectangle of knit fabric. I thought it was fascinating, but this section is best left for after your child has a firm grasp on knitting and changing colors (taught in the prior segment, but not easily mastered by young children).

The last segment was my personal favorite, although my oldest ended up playing in her room, leaving me alone to watch. It was an Alpaca Farm! They showed the little cria (baby alpaca) and the shearing of the adult alpaca. Then, we got to watch as yarn was spun using both mill equipment and a spinning wheel. I found it absolutely fascinating. Alas, my daughter missed it.

When the DVD ended, a surprising thing happened. My daughter wanted to watch the sheep again! She liked the segment depicting the shepherd and his flock! So we watched it again. When the children picked out their yarn, she announced that she picked red. "Red is my favorite!" she told me. The next thing I knew, she was coming out of my office with a skein of red yarn!

Elated, I leapt to my knitting needles and grabbed the very pair of US10 1/2s that I had when I learned to knit! (Well, my first real needles after the pencils my grandmother taught me on.) She happily watched as I cast on a few stitches. Then she sat in my lap and together we led the needles and yarn in unison with the DVD. She let me do most of the work, but she's 4, so I'm just thrilled she expressed an interest.

Later that evening, I was forced to either take the girls with me to Stitch 'N Bitch or to stay home. I decided to go ahead and try to take the girls with me for at least a quick visit. In a moment of sheer optimism, I packed my daughter's red yarn and needles. Sure enough, after we had something to eat, she wanted to knit. G and J watched with wide eyes as my daughter relayed the abbreviated tale of the shepherd with each stitch. She even began to lead the needles herself, using me to wrap the yarn and to keep her from losing all her stitches.

***I MUST BUY THIS DVD!!!***

Now, that being said, let me offer my criticism of the DVD. I've already said that some segments are much too dull for a younger audience. It's unfair for me to judge it based solely on my 4 year old's opinion, but I think even 5 or 6 year olds will find most of this DVD dull.

However, my bigger complaint is the lack of consistency of technique between segments. Little Ryan and the storyteller both use a long-tail cast-on, but they do it differently. The same is true when describing how to make a slip-knot. I feel that a DVD for children should be less confusing and more consistent. Later, new methods can be introduced.

Oh, and for the record, the DVD depicts the English Method (or throwing) in which the working yarn is held in the right (or dominant) hand and wrapped around the needle. This works for me, since that's my preferred knitting method, but if you are a Continental Knitter, you may want to teach your children using a different medium.

New Product On The Horizon

Behold the prototype. A nice drawstring bag, perfect for small projects on the go. I have several beautiful high-quality brocade fabrics ready to sew into these great little bags. Guys, this fabric is so gorgeous that the bag would work for a formal evening out! Yet it's also ideal for day-to-day use. I'm absolutely in love, and I hope that you will be too.

This weekend JL Yarnworks and friends were hard at work. Here is "J" working tirelessly. Once this woman gets started, there's no stopping her. She was on a roll!

Meanwhile "G" was doing all the ironing. Here is her beautiful pile. She knew her military training would come in handy one day. She can now iron like a pro!

Now it's time for me to sew. No guarantees on when these will be available for sale, but if you would like to be contacted when they are, just email me at jlyarnworks [at] gmail [dot] com.

Reflections

----Forgive me for the lack of pictures and for the long, deep, sentimental nature of this post, but I felt the need to write it.----


I've been known to say that there are two main types of friends in a person's life. There are friends that are just really really good acquaintances. You may have one or more things in common (kids, hobbies, employment, etc), but if you lost touch for a year or more, you probably wouldn't bother trying to get back in touch with them. If you did it would just be weird, mechanical, awkward. Then there are friends that you may have nothing in common with, but they just know your soul. You could call them at 3am bawling and they wouldn't bat an eye and they'd have the exact words you needed to hear.

I'm blessed that I've had these soul-friends in my life. But I realized when my husband deployed for Iraq from December 2003 until February 2005 that I had no local soul-friends. Granted, soul-friends know no distance....you can (and I did) call them after years of being out of touch and they still know exactly what to say, because your soul doesn't change with life experience. Your soul is static. It may take awhile for your life and your soul to mesh in perfect harmony, but your soul is always the same, leading the way.

So, back to having no local soul-friends. I was used to Mr. Yarnworks' deployments back then. This was the longest though, and my first with a child. I did great the first several months, but towards the holidays of 2004 I began to lose faith in myself. The extended family must have lost faith in me too because we began to argue when they should have been arguing with Mr. Yarnworks. My own extended family was miles away and so were all my tried and true friends, and my soul-friends.

We moved from North Carolina to South Dakota in 2001 when my husband got out of the Marine Corps. Even after 6 years and with the birth of my two children here, South Dakota doesn't feel like home. I miss North Carolina in ways I could never describe that don't have anything to do with friends or family. Those are just the icing on the cake. So with my husband overseas, I felt trapped here with our oldest daughter. She was only 11 months old when he left and was great company, but without a steadfast support system in place, I felt like I wasn't as good a mother to her as I could be.

It was then that I learned who my true friends were. A couple local friends came through for me in ways I can never thanks them enough for. Sharing Thanksgiving dinner with us and getting us out of the house even when I sometimes didn't feel up to it. They know who they are and I truly hope they know how deep my gratitude is. And I spent hours on the phone with friends who are now scattered across the US.

Now as a second Iraq deployment looms and there's a second Yarnworks child in the mix, I find myself wondering how I will survive another year and a half (or, God forbid, indefinitely) without my husband and soulmate who not only knows my soul, but puts up with my cooking! :)

This week, yesterday in particular, a couple of my friends decided to hold up big figurative neon signs that that screamed "We love you and we will help you through anything!" One was with me through the last deployment. One is a new friend who I truly believe already knows my soul. She is strong and disciplined and gracious and beautiful and her soul shines, an enhanced reflection of my own. I think I'm going to be okay.

Panda Wool Is Up!

Bamboo sock yarns have been all the rage lately. Yet, undyed bamboo/wool blends have been nearly impossible to get! Thus, it's also been nearly impossible to get hand-dyed bamboo/wool blends. Until now! I now have several dyed skeins of Panda Wool in My Etsy Store. These are even machine washable!

I have beautiful variegateds...
My signature Showcase Yarns...

Not to mention several skeins of superwash wool/nylon as usual and plenty of stitch markers to suit just about any project.

What did the kids do while Mom was busy posting all this gorgeous yarn? Well, I think Baby Yarnworks says it all...

It's here!

And I did it! The Amigurumi Rocking Horse Pattern is now available for sale in my shop.

New Amigurumi!

Baby Yarnworks is down for a nap and one of my pattern-testers has told me that one of my latest patterns has an error SO BAD that she can't figure it out. After months of procrastination...yes literally months and more than a few...I finally pull out a crochet hook and some yarn along with the original scratch pad pattern and the pretty typed up version. I see the problem almost immediately. I'm a dunce. This should be no surprise. I whip it up quick just to make sure I now know what I'm doing. Big Sister Yarnworks comes into the room and says, "You're working?" I tell her than I am and I thank her for being such a good girl and being so quiet while her sister naps. She cocks her head to the side and looks at the yellow yarn and asks, "You're making me another alien?" Hehe. I ask her if she wants another alien. "Oh yes!" she says.


Here is the alien pattern already listed for sale in my shop. You can tell that Big Sister looooves her alien!


Here is the forthcoming pattern. I hope to have it listed tonight if the girls behave. If not, tomorrow for sure! It's a little more complicated, but can't you just see a little music button in its belly playing a lullaby? I think I need to whip up a few more for upcoming baby showers.

Coming soon!

Bad Blogger

I am a horrible, neglectful blogger. I haven't blogged in ages. And I'm about to give you two really good excuses. No, I swear. They're good ones! Ready?

First, I had an order for 600 ladybug stitch markers. Yes, 600. This is what 600 ladybug beads looks like. They're about an inch deep.

When they're done, they look something like this...

I've also had a couple other custom orders keeping me busy. Not too shabby for the time of year when many knitters put down the wool for the summer. Hopefully June will keep me just as busy. Er, not so busy I won't blog. Um. Swear.

What's my other excuse? Rainy days that cause my children to create new brands of mischief. My oldest is scary when she gets into my makeup. Literally! Night of the Living Dead or what?!? She darkened her eyebrows with dark lip gloss then coated herself and her nightgown (so thick you couldn't see Barbie on the front anymore) in powder.

This picture isn't quite as good, but I posted it for its sheer irony. People like Sylvia Brown and such claim that when you photograph "orbs" that they're spirits or guides or who-knows-what. Here, when my daughter is looking like a spirit herself, are 3 "orbs" floating near her. (My photography friend....photography degree and all....says that "orbs" are created when the flash reflects of dust in the air. I'm guessing all the powder on her body would put a few particles in the air. I love the orb theory and all, but I'm a science geek first and a wanna-be ghost hunter second.)
There has also been much knitting. Knitting instead of blogging? *hangs head* Yes, it's true. I'm almost done with some socks done in Sockotta and I'm still working on the above daughter's bright striped kneesocks. I will post pictures soon!

AND! Last but not least, I now have products for sale at The Sweet Sheep in Canada! This is a wonderful online yarn store run by Michelle who has been absolutely fabulous! If she's this wonderful with her vendors (who she pays), I know she's doubly as wonderful with her customers. I highly recommend you take a peek at her site. Good stuff folks! If you're looking for my goodies, so far everything I've sent is under "Stitch Markers" and then under my vendor name.

Baby Yarnworks' First Birthday!

Today was Mother's Day, but more importantly in the Yarnworks family, it was Baby Yarnworks' First Birthday! At 12:07am she was officially a full year old.

A couple of weeks ago, my sister-in-law announced that Mr. Yarnworks' entire family would be decending on us on her birthday to help us celebrate. I panicked. Between family and friends we were looking at potentially a 30 person guest list! Sure, not everyone would be able to make it, but that's still quite an ordeal for such a little girl! After a few panicked days, Mr. Yarnworks had an idea: Let's celebrate at Grandma's house! Genius! So my sister-in-law picked up the cake and ice cream and we packed the girls in the car this morning for the 100 mile jaunt.

We stopped midway for lunch. Baby Yarnworks was ready for some food!


We finally arrive after an hour or so of Baby Yarnworks crying and Big Sister yelling at her to shush. *sigh* Please tell me that this gets better as they get older? Yeah. I know. I'm doomed. Anyway, everyone was all smiles. Here is Baby Yarnworks with her 20 month old cousin and Grandpa.

And the cake... (Thanks Sis! It was perfect!!!)

And the...erm..."cutting" of the cake...

You know, she's going to get used to this whole Princess thing and be just as spoiled as Big Sister.

We visted for a couple more hours, Mr. Yarnworks helped his dad with some manly outdoor project, and watched as Baby Yarnworks broke down the flowerbed fence to get to Ma's tulips. At least she knows what she wants, right? (Sorry, no pics. The camera was much too far away and Baby's foot was stuck in the fence. Priorities. *sigh*)

So my baby is almost a toddler. I think to be an official toddler she needs to be able to toddle.... but we're close!