Miss Kate Turns 3

Yesterday, our family celebrated Miss Kate's 3rd birthday. This year she understood the concept and was very excited all day!

And because I enjoy reviewing old pictures on birthdays, I thought I would share...

Age 1:

Age 2:

Age 3:

It's amazing how much they change in just one year.

Happy birthday baby girl! I hope all of your birthdays are as fun and magical as this one was. I love you!

Shepherd's Harvest Sheep and Wool Festival

First, let me just say that I'm still exhausted and recovering from the weekend. I'll attempt a coherent blog post, but I make no promises!

This was my first year as a vendor at Shepherd's Harvest. I had no idea what to expect, but knew from vendors I met at North Country Fiber Fair that it was a good one.

The closer the weekend came, the less prepared I felt. Will pre-show nerves ever go away? Sheesh! At least I knew the yarn was pretty!

Blues/greens/purples:

Pinks/reds/oranges:

And here was my booth. The stitch markers are on my new (and fabulous...love them!) displays on the back table. My pendants are on the navy velvet board. Baskets hold the Karatstix bamboo tools. I had assorted vintage buttons in the white bowl. And greeting cards in the box.

And here's my yarn, the Hermione hat with free pattern, and a few project bags.

All-in-all the show was FABULOUS! Sales were good, the customers were wonderful, and there were fuzzy critters everywhere you turned!

Some highlights:

• Met cloudlover and bought some of her yummy yummy fiber! I cannot describe how soft her fibers are. Just trust her name... Pictures forthcoming.
• Met several customers I knew from places like Twitter and Ravelry. (My brain is fried, so if this was you -- Kris, help? -- then fess up in the comments, k?)
• Met several customers I'd never met before in person or online, but who told me they had my store or blog bookmarked, which absolutely made my day!
• Even met one woman who recognized the Hermione hat and had "a moment" as if I were a famous knitter. :) That one totally rocked my socks! Gave me a "moment" of my own!
• Saw Annie Modesitt and nearly accosted her, but thankfully realized she was exiting the restrooms as I was waiting in line and that it would probably be poor form to grab her and start stammering.
• I was unable to get great pics of everything else the festival had to offer because my own booth was so busy! My only purchases were from within my own building!
• Special thanks to J* for tagging along, letting me work her to the bone, and not hating me for it. :)

If you saw me at Shepherd's Harvest, please leave a comment. I'd love to see all of your blogs!

Shepherd's Harvest Sheep And Wool This Weekend!

If you're anywhere near Minneapolis, MN this weekend, head just a bit east to the Washington County Fairgrounds in Lake Elmo, MN for the Shepherd's Harvest Sheep and Wool Festival!

If you can't make it, my stores will be going offline later tonight so that I don't accidentally sell anything twice! So now is the time to purchase, before it all disappears!

I plan to be back up and running, minus my show sales, on Monday or Tuesday depending on my exhaustion level! However, many categories will be a bit thread-bare until July or so. We're moving to our new house in June, so it will take awhile to get my studio set up and find time to replenish my inventory. Be patient. It will be well worth it! I'm planning a LOT of new yarn dyeing in my new home! Not to mention a couple new patterns that I've been hinting at, but haven't quite polished enough for sale yet.

I hope to see many of you at Shepherd's Harvest! Be sure to introduce yourselves!

Knitters Against Multiple Sclerosis!

I'd like all of my readers to head over to Claudia's Blog to read about her fundraiser for MS.

Last year she raised $32,000 for the cause! This year, she's aiming just as high! AND she's giving away goodies! For every $10 you donate, you get a chance to win. What's in the prize basket? There will be lots!

The first revealed prize is Alice Starmore's out-of-print Tudor Roses. Amazon says used copies are starting at $174! Older Alice Starmore books are coveted by knitters everywhere. This is a great chance to get your hands on one!

If you can, head over there and show her your support. Help her advertise, donate money, or help her add to the prize basket.

Good luck, Claudia!