Wednesday, March 31, 2010

A cool free Art Yarn Knitting Hat pattern and Art Yarn TUTORIAL! WOO HOO!




So, if you're not on ravelry, PLEASE EMAIL ME at treasuregoddessATsurewestDOTnet (replace the AT with @ and DOT with . ) and I'll send you the pdf files directly. Click the pics above to be taken to the ravelry page to download these freebies. :) I stinking LOVE that hat. Good thing, since I've now knit at least 6 of them and taught a class using this as the basic pattern piece. :) Go on and knit you one. What's that? You're not sure how to handle those strange coils in your art yarn? Well, just click the Knitting with Art Yarn tutorial picture and get busy!

I included a few cool tips in the tutorial above. My class students got a few more tips & techniques thrown in, and I'm still creating and "unventing" things as I go. I'm in the process of getting a real, live E-Book published with all the cool amazing funky things I've learned how to do (with much help from others along the way and much cursing from yours truly). Hoping it'll be out soon.

Also on the list is to get more of the fabulous coils yarn used in the pattern up on the etsy shop. ---Imagine if I was an organized woman....oh how lovely that would be...but I'm sure it'd make for boring blog reading.

The Sophisticated Coils hat would work well with just about any heavy-worsted to bulky handspun art yarn you may come up with...coils, cocoons, thick & thin, trapped puffs, etc. Give it a try and please let me know if you have any comments! My life (and my designs) are always a work in progress.

Is it Friday yet? Seems like an unbelievably long week.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Treasuregoddess Tips & Techniques for Knitting with Art Yarn...coming soon!

So we all survived the Knitting with Art Yarn class. :) There were art yarn coils hats popping up all weekend long and I have to tell you, I was SO EXCITED to see the cute hats and the enthusiasm of the art yarn knitting pros too! WOO HOO!

I will admit to breaking open the cooler on Sat about 2pm. :) Hey, forget about "It's 5:00 somewhere," it was THANK GOD THE CLASS IS OVER AND NO ONE (especially me) WENT SCREAMING DOWN THE HALLS! After a cheeseburger and a couple of Mike's Hard Limeades, this spinner/knitter/guild treasurer/art yarn vendor just kicked back and enjoyed the heck out of the whole Knitting in the Heartland event. I have to say, these women I worked with that organized the shebang did a FABULOUS JOB! And seriously? The women in the class? They rocked. They also created new and amazing ways to work with the SUPERCOILS too. OH, the photos...they will come soon. For now, here's one of the ideas for working with SUPERCOILS:



I'll soon be posting portions of my TreasureGoddess Tips & Techniques for Knitting with Art Yarns! And a newsletter....and more stuff on the etsy shop....and world peace, no, scratch that last one. I'll just work on getting my own area of the world straightened out and hope that everyone else will learn to play nice too. Right now I've got enough going on with the JOB thing, MOM thing and getting my house to no longer look like a yarn shop threw up all over the place!

OH, remember the mouse story? Well this little guy is probably why I screamed HOLY SHXT MOUSE! and other such things the other day when the fluff of grey fiber wafted by. Meet Randy the Rat. Yes. Rat. Yes. Randy. Actually, "Ra-yan-dy" said as on the show My Name is Earl. The husband has taken to letting Randy the Rat hang out on his desk in his little desk shelf thing. Randy's cage has been relegated to the office and apparently Randy really LIKES hanging out on Jeff's desk. *shudder* The only issue (ok, we all know it's not the ONLY issue, but I'm trying to play nice) is that the husband sometimes FORGETS that he's left the rat STILL ON THE DAMN DESK while he's off in other areas of the house. cripes almighty. So far, Randy seems to be happy just hanging out there and after a few serious conniptions or "come-aparts" by moi after walking in and seeing no husband but the DAMN RAT just sitting there looking at me, the husband has promised to remember to put Randy back in his DAMN cage. Let's all just hope that there's no more grey fluffy stuff floating about the house. I'm afraid it might not be fiber the next time...

OH, and I should point out that this is an actual PET rat, purchased at the pet shop, not something found roaming about our house. Our house is a crazy place, but so far only infested with yarn, fiber, children and a husband that I love dearly, but sometimes makes my eyeballs itch. :)

Thursday, March 25, 2010

We're HOME baby!

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Joey showing off his nebulizer (breathing treatment) vest air clearance therapy (vest that shakes the tar out of him) and picc line cover knitted by mom (although the iv is actually attached, or it's usually pulled down lower to cover the bandages and keep the little part of the cord from the picc line from catching on anything.

We're home now. YAY! Joey did amazing, had more tests & procedures than I can count without getting the shivers, and is feeling much better. He's still coughing & has stomach issues, but they're more manageable now and we have an action plan to finish getting him well at home.

SO, remember the little tufts of fiber wafting about Children's Mercy? Well the other night I was spinning THIS....
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As one of the housekeeping ladies opened the door to empty the trash, it sent a little bit of air gusting through the room. A little tuft of that stuff came wafting across the floor away from me. I proceeded to yell "OH SHXT! A MOUSE!" and jumped up onto the chair, which caused her to yell something that sounded like mouse in another language that I didn't catch. After we figured out that it was nothing more than my stupid spinning fiber, we laughed and laughed. Then every time I saw her after that, she'd come in, wave and holler "mouse!" and laugh some more. CYG (Crazy Yarn Girl) apparently is not held back by language limitations. I'm apparently a dumbarse in any language.

Ah well, WE'RE HOME! WOO HOO!

And I'm spinning & organizing like a TRUE Crazy Yarn Girl to get ready for this weekend! Come by and say HI at the vendor market. I'll be the one in the orange cowgirl hat that hopefully is presiding over a vendor spot full of fiber in an organized fashion. Seriously, who am I kidding? I'll be the one in the hat with yarn thrown in mounds still pricing things and most likely with a margarita or 4 by 10am. :) At least I'll have cute bracelets!
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Click to see the Knitting in the Heartland Vendor List.
Ramada Overland Park
7240 Shawnee Mission Pkwy
Overland Park, KS 66202

Vendor market 9-5 Sat & Sun

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Still here...still spinning...still knitting

Joey's quite a trooper and has charmed the entire staff of the 6th floor of Children's Mercy. We're hoping to be home any day now and return to our normal version of our not-very-normal life soon.

I got a kick out of walking along the hallways and every so often there's a little tuft of fibery fluff seen in odd spots of the hospital. I'm sure the cleaning staff isn't amused, but it makes me smile. I'll be on an entirely different floor, on my way to the Ronald McDonald room for dinner or to the cafeteria or something, get into the elevator and there's a little bit of wine colored fluff...or purple fluff...or gray fluff... or blue. There has been quite a lot of spinning going on.

Knitters rock. Thanks for all the good thoughts & prayers & cards & goodie packets. I have to say one of the favorites was a hallmark card that burps. Yes, burps. Bodily noises are big with 10 yr old boys. The packages of diversionary distraction, movies, visits, emails, rav msgs, paying for my dinner when I accidentally dined & dashed at the knitting guild meeting. cripes almighty. You guys rock.

What did we do before we found all these friends through the online knitting world?

Monday, March 15, 2010

Spinning & Knitting from the hospital


Well, the youngest Weasley is in the hospital for treatment of a few Cystic Fibrosis (CF) related issues. He's got a couple of lung infections that have flared up, gut pain and sinus stuff. Sinus surgery cleared up that part of things and he's already breathing easier. He's on iv antibioitcs & respiratory therapy 4X a day to help fight the lung stuff. We're still working on gut issues. He's a trooper and boy, howdy, if you've got to be a kid in a hospital, Children's Mercy is sure the place to be.

It's so cheerful and happy that it borders on being a bit spooky. Seriously, how do those people still SMILE so big at 4am? It boggles the mind.

It's actually a GOOD THING that he's been admitted. We've been trying to patch things here & there with meds that just weren't strong enough. The hardest part is that the boy's pretty much quarantined to his room. For about 2 weeks. And he's starting to feel better, so it will be a challenge to say the least. I'm thankful for the loan of many movies (including the range of Harry Potter films!), activity books, snacks, art materials, etc.

If anyone out in blogland happens to think to themselves, "Hey, that's a cute kid. I'd like to help out." We're actually in pretty good shape here. BUT I've got a great idea.... A blogger with CF is carrying on a charity knitting project started by another CF blogger that recently died from the disease. It doesn't take much yarn or time and is an IMMENSE help to those with CF or other diseases that cause them to have to have a picc line (long-term iv line from the upper arm through to the veins at the top entrance of the heart). You DON'T wanna be getting the end of that cord tugged or pulled. ICK and OW. We couldn't even get Joey's picc line inserted in the normal manner and ended up having to do it in radiology under sedation, so we REALLY don't want his picc line getting snagged on anything. I'm knitting up a few picc covers for Joey, but there's lots of people out there that would appreciate a few picc covers too! Click HERE for a link to info on knitting up the pattern. There's also a crocheted pattern on ravelry HERE. Nothing against crochet, but I've found that crocheted projects seem to have less give than knitting, something that's pretty important for a picc cover. I'd say knit it if you can. There are links on the FindingJennProject for finding a local CF care center. All sizes of people (kids to adults) could use them. I'd recommend superwash wool since it's soft and washable.

Anyone in the KC area, I'd be happy to take them in to Children's Mercy. Please make sure to put yours in a ziplock-type baggie. My son's got a mrsa staff infection as one of his lung infections. It could be contagious to others with CF (hence the quarantine). I'll keep them sealed to keep them from carrying on any infectious bits.

Since I can't reply to comments yet on the blog (DANGIT) please feel free to email me if you need any info on this project. treasuregoddessATkcDOTsurewestDOTnet

Thanks guys for all the good thoughts & prayers. He's a tough little guy and is doing well. We're just excited we've finally got an action plan to fight all this CRAP he's been dealing with for the last few months! WOO HOO!

Also, don't worry. This is still the redneck fiber blog it's become. The raccoon skin has FINALLY been treated by Jeff so it no longer is so rank in our garage. (I think I was the only one not upset by the cold weather staying so long...it kept my garage from smelling like rotting raccoon.) Well, the hide's been treated, but it's a bit stiff. Jeff has it laid out on the kids' skateboard ramp. The funny thing is that the way it dried...well, it looks like it's flying. I snort every time I see it. The arms (or the fur that used to cover the arms...you know what I mean) somehow dried in this position that it looks like the thing is FLYING. So, now we've got a freaky flying raccoon in the garage. Camera batteries were dead, so you'll just have to imagine it with me.

I'm sure we'll soon return to the normal knitting while things blow up around me or while nature tries to eat me. No worries. For now, I'm just freaking out the hospital staff with my spinning wheel, hanks of yarn drying in Joey's shower and knitting at all hours of the night. :) Knit on...

Friday, March 05, 2010

A Bucket full of Wool Bits!







I've been busy lately....since the knitting mojo hasn't quite returned full force, I took my love of all things woolly and started stringing bracelets for the Knitting in the Heartland vendor market and etsy shop! What do you think? I *heart* them very much and have been given the "wow, mom, that's actually kind of cool" award from the teenaged girlchild. That's right up there with the "thanks for not entirely embarassing me this time" award. We parents of teens could totally host our own awards show. Can't you just see yourself on stage, being handed a little statue of eyeballs rolling back that says "what EVER" when you push a button? The audience would be filled with kids texting each other about how lame everything is and how horrid their parents are even though they're sitting RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER and have apparently lost the ability to TALK OUT LOUD. Oh. Sorry. Back to fiber....

I'm spinning spinning spinning my arse off creating all the art yarn for my class on Knitting with Art Yarn at the Knitting in the Heartland Event! (BTW class fees GO UP AFTER TODAY, so either EMAIL adminATsunflowerknittersguildDOTorg for a paypal invoice or GET YOUR ENTRY POSTMARKED TODAY to save you $$. For more info or to download a class schedule, click HERE.

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

The Prodigal Sock and Art Yarn Crocheted Cowl



Guess what Jeff pulled out of the innerds of my broken truck? A mountain colors barefoot sock! OH! SO excited to see this again!!! I know, I know. It's a sock. But it's a mountain colors barefoot sock AND my very favorite of the many pair I've knit! Apparently it got shaken loose from wherever it'd been stuck when I was rear ended on the highway. I've had this one, sad little sock looking at me each time I've washed my woolens and folded and put the pairs away. Poor little sock. Now it's mate has come home! YAY! As Ma Ingalls would say, "There's no great loss without some small gain." As I would say, "Wow. That Sucks. But ooooooh looky there!" Yeah. Probably why my daughter hasn't written a dozen children's books sharing the stories of her childhood to generations of young readers, huh?

What do you do with a skein of art yarn that's just not quite your style? OK, you probably don't buy it. Well, if you DO end up with some art yarn that you think wants to be more than just a drop stitch scarf, try a slip stitch cowl! I'll write up an official pattern later, but in a nutshell, you take a big ass crochet hook, crochet a chain long enough to fit around your head at its widest point, then add about 3-4 inches. Then join and slip stitch LOOSELY around and around until you run out of yarn or you decide it's long enough. Pull it over your head, and voila! You have a trendy, fasionable artsy fartsy cowl! WOO HOO!

This was actually some of the sample yarn I spun up at one of Insubordiknit's Art Yarn Spinning Classes. I *heart* it very much. Below, see the "before" and "after" shots. Also, the snow shot was snapped in my neighbor's back yard instead of my usual parking lot spot. My neighbor already thinks I'm crazy, so no worries there.







It actually looks much better with my black shirt and dark orange jacket. Don't know why I photographed it while wearing PURPLE, the one color NOT in the yarn. Ah well.

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