CHALLENGE Wear Your Knits Day 1

Welcome to visitors from Whip Up! I apologize for your first view of my blog to be an armpit shot, but that's just the kind of high quality blog fodder TreasureGoddess provides. :) If you've not been to Whip Up's site, why not? Amazingly full of tutorials, patterns and creative ideas to get you motivated to create! (My felted wool bead bracelet is due to show up on Whip Up's site any moment now. woo hoo!)

OK, on to the CHALLENGE! After one more season of packing up beautiful hand knit clothing that was ONCE AGAIN not worn for an entire season and unpacking beautiful hand knit clothing to put on shelves that weren't worn the LAST TIME they were out for the enitre season either I decided enough was enough! Why do so many knitters (and crocheters) spend hours of their lives, money they quite probably can't afford, creating these amazing items and then NEVER WEARING THEM? It's time for a change! I'm going to challenge myself, and anyone that wants to come along for the ride, to WEAR YOUR KNITS! I know this would've been much easier to do in the WINTER or FALL, but I imagine there's enough cardigans, light scarves, sleeveless sweaters, headbands, wrist cuffs, etc that we can do it. Or at least be motivated to try.

Come and join the crazy! WEAR your HAND KNIT/CROCHETED/SEWN creations! I figure if you run out of hand created stuff, at least wear a purchased sweater or cardigan or headband to keep in the spirit! Because I'm a true slacker at heart, I'm only aiming to wear something hand created Monday through Friday for the Month of May. I'm going to slum out on the weekend and go back to my usual cropped jeans & t-shirt & crocks attire.

DAY 1 Monday, May 1, 2010
Hand Created Item: Sizzle, by Wendy Barnard.
Knit in 2006
Yarn: Classic Elite Yarns Provence 100% mercerized cotton
Before this worn maybe 3 times TOTAL, all in 2006.

There's really no rules to the CHALLENGE. Just try to wear something hand knit, crocheted, sewn, beaded, created by YOU each work day of the month. See how far you can get! Join the ravelry or flickr group and let's see you WEARING your hand crafted creations!

the Flickr Group



the Ravelry Group

May Day YARN SALE!

Knit Wit (no website to link, sorry) in Olathe, KS is having a May Day Yarn sale TOMORROW (Saturday May 1st). I don't remember exactly the percent off, but she has some SERIOUS sales!

Yarn shop is located in the mini-mall at 151st and Ridgeview, just east of I-35 in Olathe, KS. Actual address: 1825 S Ridgeview Rd, Olathe, KS 66062. Phone: 913-780-5648.

I got the Classic Elite 4 Seasons yarn from Jan's sale bins there at something like $3/skein. Unbelievable deals, go on and get you some. Sorry for the last minute notice, I totally forgot.

The Happy Homemaker's Kitchen Counter

Nothing like fresh handspun yarn soaking on the counter, huh? Dangit. Sure wish I WAS a happy homemaker. I'd have my day all mapped out...
wake up, get kids ready for school
have a hot tea and check on the etsy shop, return any emails, list more yarn
Do housework for 2 hours
Lunch
Spin, knit or dye for the afternoon
Meet the kids after school
Cook a family dinner from scratch
Spend evening with family, watch star trek with husband, knit a bit
Dream the blissful sleep of those that don't have to work a full time job.

*sigh* Husband thinks my day would be more like...
wake up grumpy, knit knit knit, slam something on the table for dinner, knit knit knit.

Guess we'll never know for sure.....


The clearing of the cotton stash continues. I'd show a completed photo of the purple sizzle sweater IF I COULD FIND THE DAMN THING! Yes, I've once again lost not only yarn, but an entire sweater IN MY STASH. I know it's in there somewhere, just can't seem to find the thing anywhere. Last seen at the Sunflower Knitting Guild meeting. I remember shoving it into a drawer..... it only needs blocking and ends woven in. Damn.

This is Tomato from the book No Sheep for You! It's also now available as a free download from ravelry. I still need to do neck & sleeve edging and it'll be done. I've got an embarrasing amount of cotton still in the stash so will have many more summer sweaters for my daughter and I hopefully completed soon.

Used up some leftover artyarns supermerino for picc line covers. Pretty cool how the pooling changed with the different stitch counts on the two tubes, huh?

Picc Line Cover FREE PATTERN

Click the button above for a ravelry link to my free pattern for knitting up Picc Line Covers. Picc lines are used for people with CF (cystic fibrosis) or for those fighting other long term illnesses that require them to have iv antibiotics/meds administered through a picc line. It's like a cosy for your arm. :) It helps cover the bandaging and helps keep the little tube end from getting caught up on anything. It's easily removed or pushed up/down for nurses to check the picc line when needed.

When Joey was in the hospital they recommended we cut off an old sock. Ick. First of all, totally not fashionable. Secondly, it doesn't fit and flops about. Thirdly, I'm a KNITTER for cripes sake. I can do better! A few years back, I knitted up a couple picc covers for donating to some CF-ers I'd learned about from a post on the blog FINDING JENN. My son was so healthy at the time, it didn't even dawn on me that I may want to knit one for him. Ah well. Thanks to the donation of some scrap superwash yarn from Chery I was able to whip one up in an evening for my son. **Not that I had no superwash worsted yarn, people the size of my stash is a scary thing...I just had no time between running back & forth to/from the hospital and home and work and such that she just told me she'd bring it to me. I love knitting friends so very much!

ANYWAY, it's a great project. I recommend using superwash wool as it's soft, washable and retains its shape, bouncing back through all the wear & tear. Wool, wool blends or whatever you've got can work. Just please put a care instruction card with any you make. Our local guild has this project in queue for a charity project soon, but I thought I'd get the word out for anyone interested in making a difference with some of your left over yarn!

Please click HERE for a map of U.S. Care centers from the CF Foundation's website. Feel free to rav msg me TREASUREGODDESS or email me at TreasureGoddessATkcDOTsurewestDOTnet (replacing the at's and dot's with the symbols--you know what I mean) if you'd like to send any picc covers to me to distribute.

There's also a group on ravelry now! Click HERE to check out the group!

I was lucky enough to meet (via ravelry) the woman who inspired the picc line covers, findingher. She rocked. I love that she used knitting, crocheting and crafting to help her deal with a really crappy illness and its effects on her life. I am always amazed at how much knitting can help us deal with the hard times in life. Elizabeth Zimmermann really had it right..."Knit on, with confidence and hope, through all crises."

Thanks all, happy knitting!

Light Box, TreasureGoddess Style

There are some amazing tutorials on building light boxes out of pvc pipe, white material, clip on lights, etc out there on the innernets. This is my high tech version, which works very well, I may add. I've got a white-backed quilt thrown over our table & two chairs in the screened-in porch. It works great, lets me get pretty good shots on sunny or cloudy days and easy set-up/take-down. I think it's fabulous. Cost $0, and nothing extra to store away in our overcrowded house!

Yarn. Don't leave home without it.

The yarn gods must be having quite the chuckle. In one day I've been stuck in traffic, on an hour and a half conference call AND waited in a doctor's office for 25 minutes. All. Without. Any. Knitting.

The horror! I normally have a project bag with a sock in progress in the truck's console. There's usually another WIP shoved in the bottom of my work backpack. The current project is carried about in my purse. Normally none of these gets any play time during the day, but they're there. Carried about. Just. in. case.

Well, for some freaky reason, I decided to CLEAN OUT the work backpack. AND the purse. And the sock project bag is still in the garage from when Jeff took the truck to the farm. I have this totally rational and not-at-all overly dramatic fear that my project bag will return from one of his farm weekends full of ticks, so all forms of fiber are removed from the vehicle until it's deemed tick-free. Issues? I gots them.

I'm gonna restock my emergency knitting to never have to live like this again. I don't know how the non-knitters do it. Sitting in a waiting room without knitting? Just SITTING there? cripes almighty. I can tell you one thing, it won't happen to me again. Emergency knitting project. It's a good thing.

Happy weekend everyone! I plan on spinning up some of this loverly wool fiber from wooliebullie I got at Knitting in the Heartland. Also am knitting away on cotton stash...hope to have a few FO pics next week.

Felted Wool Bead Bracelet Tutorial

Here's a long & visual tutorial post for you. If you'd rather just save time & effort, feel free to check out my etsy shop TreasureGoddess and buy a completed bracelet for yourself or a friend. :)

SUPPLY LIST:
Felted Wool Beads (create your own or look on www.etsy.com for suppliers) in ranges of colors/sizes. I make most of my bracelets with combinations of sizes 1 cm, 1.5 cm, and 2 cm.
Sequins 5mm size, picked up at the local craft store.
Elastic Beading Cord I found Stretch Magic .5mm size worked well. Strong and thin enough to make it through the wool beads.
Needles I used DMC Chenille needles size 22 (longer needle & sharp)
Misc silver beads picked up from local craft store. Mix & match for a unique look.
Glue I HIGHLY recommend G-S Hypo Cement. It's got a needle like tip for accuracy and promises NOT to glue your fingers together, but is waterproof and super sturdy.
scissors

Click the picture to see a larger view














TreasureGoddess Etsy Shop



Happy Crafting!

My dirty little secret....

I'm knitting a summer sleeveless sweater. No surprise there, right? Well, the surprise/little secret is that it's, well, knit of *cough* *cough* cotton *cough* *cough*. I know it. It's disgusting. Just after blasting the world of knitters out there for not following through with their sheepy selves and succumbing to the NORM by knitting with cotton instead of wool as soon as it gets hot outside, I go and do the very same thing! Oh the shame! cripes. Well, after ONE day of over 80 degrees inside my house I decided that I was, in fact, insane to avoid cotton yarn. I went immediately to break out the cotton. SO immediately I didn't even skein & soak the crap. Nope. I am knitting this frogged and kinked up 100% mercerized WORSTED WEIGHT cotton yarn as is from those horrid little balls. Wound way back in the day before my skeiner & ball winder (or the yarn baller as my husband calls it).

I'm knitting another Sizzle by Wendy Bernard, who's patterns I heart very very much. I knit the one linked here in red mercerized COTTON and wear it often, so now it'll have a twin in purple. It is a pretty fast knit, I've knit up the back and half the front over the weekend.

BABY UPDATE: Niece baby is gorgeous and healthy as can be. Got to hold her for about 2 hours the other night at the hospital. We rubbed bellies and I got her to fart then quit squawking and was happy as could be. It's a gift. Babies love me, almost makes me want more of them, but then I remember that they get bigger and start moving about on their own. I'll stick with Aunt-Hood. It's a good gig.

COW BABY UPDATE: 3 cow babies delivered healthy so far. Seven more pregnant mommas waiting still. Here's a new little one only a few hours old. Jeff & his buddy helped with the delivering. I stayed in KC and left the cow baby belly rubbing to the husband. :)


Edited to add...I am in NO WAY bagging on those that knit with cotton. I respect you from afar. I am more of a sheepy wool kind of knitter. I'm known for wearing 100% merino sleeveless sweaters through the 90+ degree HUMID weather of KC. I don't mind WEARING cotton, I'm just not a fan of KNITTING with the stuff. The combination of HOT FREAKING WEATHER coming and a stash quite crammed with cotton yarn from my first days as a knitter means more of these cotton knit sweaters are probably in my future.

Farm Babies and People Babies!

Two of our momma cows have had their calves! YAY! Now we've got 8 more preggo momma cows left to go. We're actually total suburbanites with a partnership in a farm about 1 1/2 hrs south of KC. Ok, I'M a total suburbanite with a massive fear of ticks. My husband and children are much more country-acclimated, but there's hope for me yet. Hubby is on his way down to help out our partner with the birthing and such.

The "Crazy Momma" as we call the cow in the photos below is one that's still expecting now. These photos are about a year ago, so she's much bigger now. I just love the expression on the face of the grumpy cow on the right, don't you? I've SEEN that look directed at me many, many times in my life from other NORMAL moms, so I relate to "Crazy Momma" and sure wish her luck & a speedy gentle birth of her calf. A year back, Jeff had dumped off one of the hay bales that was also covered with vines & growing bits of vegetation into the pasture. All the other momma cows were patiently taking mouthfuls from the edges, but Crazy Momma went busting right into the center of the bale, getting her head stuck and hollering while flipping her head all about, finally pulling free and wearing her little stylish wreath of vegetation for a couple of days. She even seemed to sashay her big ol cow butt around the place, quite pleased with her new stylish accessories.

In other baby news, one of my sister in laws is scheduled for her c-section TOMORROW and somehow the idea of KNITTING for the new baby just didn't quite get into my head. HOLY CRAP! We're 90% sure it's going to be a little girl (their 2nd) but the little one was not cooperating in her sonograms, so you never know! I'd better whip up a little hat or something tonight, huh? PEOPLE BABY hat, not cow baby hat. This newest member of our family is the little sibling to THIS pile of cuteness. If the new baby has a tenth the personality of the big sister, my brother & his wife will sure have their hands full. I LOVE that girl, can't wait to meet the new little one! BABIES!!!! I freaking LOVE being an aunt!!!!!

There may be a sighting today.....

Nice weather, good sunlight, green grass, bags full of handspun yarn......
There may have to be a CYG photo-shoot sighting today.
The Crazy Yarn Girl shoots again?

Have a fabulous fiber filled day everyone! As I click through blogs admiring the beautiful flowers that are the sign of spring approaching, I realized that in our own strange little way, we've got signs of spring as well. Instead of tulips & daffodills pushing up through the soil, we've got scatterings of colorful bits of popped water balloons among the grass from when the temps hit 50 a week ago and the children decided they MUST don swimsuits, have a water fight and jump on the trampoline with water balloons. Hey, I never said we had SMART children, just CREATIVE ones. They spent the remainder of that day wrapped in blankets shivering, but proud as heck of their adventure.

My signs of spring are that I'm drawn to pastel shades of wool. Wool. It's the every season marker, right? Have you heard of those knitters that PUT THE WOOL AWAY for the spring & summer knitting? They knit something called COTTON. Insane. Freaking insane. Oh, and that just means MORE WOOL FOR ME! WEEEEEEEEEEEE Here's one of my little signs of spring. I think this one's going to have to stay mine.....not sure what it wants to be when it grows up. BFL & Shetland wool just scream spring, right? I'm thinking maybe an easter bonnet style headband....it could work. And yes, I do realize that orange in my stash may not scream SPRING to anyone else, since it often screams SUMMER, WINTER and FALL. But that's what this yarn is screaming to me today. I can't help it if I've got schizophrenic yarn. :)

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.

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. :)

We're HOME baby!

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....

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!


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

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?

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...

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.

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.