Hello Winter!

If you live in the NW I hope you have a lot of layers on. The low today was 14 degrees F. Brrr. But the forecast does call for rain and warmer temperatures by the weekend so there is an end in sight! But I'm sure you didn't stop by to get a weather report. Where have I been? Sitting on the couch for the most part. Well maybe just mentally. It's been a big year for me, my family and Knitted Wit. Next year is going to be even bigger so it's been nice to be a little reflective but also to plot out some plans for the new year.

With no Sock Summit in the near future I've been trying to figure out how to grow the business in other ways. I can't seem to get it together to take pictures and post them on Etsy. Way too time consuming. I've had great shops buying from me this year and I hope I can continue to add to the list in the coming year.

My family is also trying to figure out where to keep Knitted Wit. Currently everything is in the garage. And I mean everything! The business plus all the personal stuff: sports equipment, camping equipment, art supplies, wood working tools, books...The list goes on for miles. In the summer it's not too big of a deal. I can do all my dyeing, drying, re-skeining outside under the carport. In the winter it gets a little too cramped to do much in the garage. We're hoping a storage shed under the carport for Knitted Wit, downsizing a bike (or three) and possible losing a saw contraption will open up the space.

I think in some ways I'm experiencing some growing pains. I work almost full time so trying to figure out how to dedicate enough time to the business to make it successful is hard. I can't be too successful in some ways and start losing hours at a job that pays health insurance. However, this is all going to change in a bit when baby number 2 gets here. Limbo is a tricky place to be.

This blog post probably isn't so much for you as it is for me. I've been mulling in these thoughts for a while. I think getting them out of my head will help. I'll try to be back sooner with something a little more festive!

The Quease

I've been having all my morning sickness in the evening. Super frustrating considering I have a free hour every night but I can't seem to get anything done. I'm doing pretty good today so I thought I'd stop by and say hi. Sadly I don't have much to report.

I have realized that I should do my spinning in the morning after I drop e off at daycare. I have a few minutes before I have to leave for work and I usually feel pretty good. So that's the plan for tomorrow. Then maybe I'll have something to report!

For now I'll leave you with some photos of life lately

Helen's baby blanket that knit night made her. I did the dyeing of the yarn, a great group project. Thanks ladies!

e at the pumpkin patch. He was standing on a giant tower of hay. He's pretty beautiful if I do say so myself!

Last weekend we went to Oma's house up in Welches. There were puppies, geese, bunnies and a nice fall walk.

I need to be doing more of this! It's hard to move the dye studio inside after a great summer under the carport.

Excuses

So it's been forever since my last post and I have a lot of excuses

*I got my new spinning wheel! I had a lot of fun breaking it in. I have three bobbins that need to get plied. And a huge pile that still needs to get spun up

*I'm pregnant. !! A bit of a surprise. I'm not very far along, 8 weeks, and feeling quite queasy. So next summer life will be quite busy.
*My car broke down over a weekend, easy fix. Phew!
*My yarn can now be found at WoolGirl I had so much fun hanging out with Jennifer when she picked out the yarn.
*I now work four days a week. Adding that extra day really takes a lot out of my free time!
*I've been busy behind the scenes making this for a dear friend. Now that it's over I have a little extra time in the evening. Hopefully I'll be showing up here more! Sorry I don't have a finished picture, it's still on the camera!

I'll try not to go so long between posts, but there are no guarantees!

OFFF and the great catch up

So the week leading up to Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival was busy. I found out Friday before that I would be receiving a box of Bling to dye up on the following Wednesday. Had to be dried and labeled by Friday. Add to the chaos finding the most perfect Knitted Wit mobile. But I just realized this is old news. On to OFFF.

The weather was amazing both days. Such a great way to wrap up fall. Both days had a great pace with customers and friends. I was able to get in all the shopping I needed! Business wise it felt like I was established. I don't feel like I have the words to describe the event. I think a lot of people felt this way about Sock Summit. The only sad news is that my spinning wheel isn't here yet. However this is really for the best. I have a lot to do in the next week, which hopefully is all I have to wait. I bought a ton of wool plus the stash I already own, I need to spin!

I did purchase a spindle at the urging of Michele, which really wasn't much urging! But there is no way I'll be busting through stash on it. But it is a nice calming moment to pick it up and spin a little.

I bought a little fleece, just a 1/3 or a merino sheep. I bought it from a lady in the barn, she shears. It was a little over cooked on the sheep but is washing out just fine. I'm taking pictures of the whole process to show you next time. It's pretty amazing how much gunk washes out! The fleece was a small investment and seemed like a reasonable challenge to tackle. I'm really excited to break out the drum carder and put it to use!

I don't want to put a million pictures up so I'll let you look at the rest of the set. You'll see the stories! If you attended the event I hope you had as much fun as I did. I'll see you next year OFFF!

Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival

A very generous friend helped me set up my booth today. And boy does the booth look good! I'm in the same location as last year. I'm across from the bathrooms out side on the lawn. If you're standing in line for food turn around and you'll see my booth! I'm really proud of how the booth looks, lots of beautiful yarn and fiber. There are a few things I want to hide under the table!

After setting up Michele and I took a spin around to see some shops. Most people were already closed up but we were able to chat with a few friends. And of course I bought some fiber. I bought from this lady at the Abernathy Grange Sale in March and love the colors. She only had a few bundles so I'm glad I got first dibs! I'm really excited about this weekend. It's so fun to see familiar faces. And don't forget the critters! While we were setting up we listened to the baaaing and maaaing of the critters. So sweet. I'll try to sneak away from the booth and get some pictures. I think e's going to really like the animals. Well, I hope anyways since I want to be a farmer when I grow up !

I went to find a picture of my booth from last year but couldn't on this computer. I did find this though! What a sweet little boy!

Happy Equinox

So, it's been a while. Sorry about that. I think after sock summit I needed some nights off. And e sleeps in his crib, all night. So I can't use the computer (the main one) in his room. But I'm sure you'll understand it's more important that he sleeps than I blog!! I think after OFFF life will be rearranged a little and we'll sink into a fall routine. One can hope anyways. One improvement around here is my new set of wheels! This is not the one I bought, but just like it. You would be amazed at how much yarn and fiber fit in there! Now I can drive Knitted Wit around and e!

Here's a quick reminder of what's going to happen at OFFF:
I'm going to have a seconds bin with merino that aren't up to par, they'll be half off. Four ounces of wool for $7!!! I'll also have a discontinued bin with corriedale, shetland and select BFL. $10 a braid, regularly $14. Pretty exciting.

My new little idea is Create Your Own Colorway. One ounce balls of color for you to mix and match to create what you want. Spin it, felt it, create with it. $3 a ball. If you spin up a colorway you're crazy about send me a pic and I'll start dyeing it. You can even name it. I dyed all the colors today and they are rich. I'm so excited to see what people create. This idea has come from moms asking me for wool to do felting projects with their kiddos. So excited to do that with e one day.

AND!!! Bling yarn will be available! Merino, Silk, Nylon and Silver. That's right, silver. I'm going to focus on dyeing the Bling in solid colors because it seems to get used as shawls for the most part. I will do a few variegated ones, Peacock, Ladies that Lunch, Umpqua Valley, maybe a few more favorites. You may have heard that the yarn was having production problems, but they are ironed out. I'm very excited about debuting Bling at OFFF. If you have a request for a solid or variegated color way let me know.

So there are a few things going on behind the scenes here. A few new places to find Knitted Wit yarn, a few (too many) projects on the needles, and a new spinning wheel that is almost here. You know what else is keeping me busy is e. This picture is right after his first hair cut. I still miss his curls but not all the tangles! What a cutie. Lately he's been snuggling with me and not just nursing. He's not been known to sit still for anything! He's also saying please and thank you. Well, Pea and Anku. He also likes to test me when I say no. He looks me square in the eye and tries again. Nothing like a healthy toddler. Still on the family front, E is doing well too. He's added food to his diet and feels strong. That seems like a simple little statement, but in the 8 years we've been together he's only eliminated food. So life is feeling pretty grand.

I hope you are able to make it to OFFF if you live in the area. Stop by and say hi, it's great seeing people!

Spin Your Stash

I started a group on Ravelry, Spin Your Stash. If you're a member (if you're not, why not?!) join us. I'm working on spinning my stash from the start of the fall equinox to the spring equinox. That way I'll have room in the bin for more fiber when all the shows start in the spring. I got all my fiber out this afternoon and took some pictures. I feel very inspired to get going on this project. I was also reminded of a few dyers that I love and who will be at OFFF!

Speaking of OFFF, there are going to be some specials! I'm going to have a seconds bin with merino that aren't up to par, they'll be half off. Four ounces of wool for $7!!! I'll also have a discontinued bin with corriedale, shetland and select BFL. $10 a braid, regularly $14. Pretty exciting.

My new little idea is Create Your Own Colorway. One ounce balls of color for you to mix and match to create what you want. Spin it, felt it, create with it. $3 a ball. If you spin up a colorway you're crazy about send me a pic and I'll start dyeing it. You can even name it. I dyed all the colors today and they are rich. I'm so excited to see what people create. This idea has come from moms asking me for wool to do felting projects with their kiddos. So excited to do that with e one day.

I'll snap some pics in the morning of all the fiber drying. I won't know my booth location at OFFF until the friday we set up. As soon as I know I'll post it here and on Ravelry. I only dyed up 4 one ounce balls per color, so get to the booth early for best selection!

You'll never guess

So it's been a little busy around here. Last week e was out of day care and that threw life in to a spin. The thing you'll never guess is e's sleep. It went in the tank last week, or at least my patience for it did. I thought I was going to add that to my Quitter List. BUT last night I told him it was bed time, kissed him good night and laid him down in the crib. I walked out of the room and he was asleep in 3!! minutes. Tonight we were down to two. At day care she lays him down in the crib and walks out with no fuss. I thought I would give it a try and so far a success. He did wake up a few times last night, but that's the next step it feels like. Thanks for indulging my parenting story. This has been such a major part of my life-no sleep.

On to other things in life. I've started Ishbel. I've jumped on the wagon and I'm so happy! A very easy knit so far, I haven't hit the lace yet. Seems easy enough. I'm using Shine SemiSolid Peacock. Very lovely. I think it will show off the yarn well for OFFF. I also started knitting a hat, the one that's on the cover of Vogue Knitting. So cute. I need to knit a little more before I know if the yarn is too distracting from the pattern.

Sorry there's no pictures. Life is just starting to settle down this week. I'll try to get some tomorrow. If I have time between all the canning! I'm so excited to be in the kitchen. My mom's coming down to help keep an eye on e and give me moral support. I'm making pickled carrots with rosemary and spicy dilly beans and dills. Mmmm. I'll definitely takes pictures of that! I'm off to knit before I fall asleep. I'm still in complete awe that e went to sleep all on his own.

Montavilla Farmer's Market

It's that time again! The next three Sundays, plus one in October, I'll be at the farmer's market on Stark and 76th. Stop by between 10 and 2 and say hello!

I'm a quitter

I started this beautiful shawl (ravelry link) with my Dye For Glory entrance SemiSolid Peacock. After doing the first section of lace work and starting the second chart I'm ready to be done. I don't have time to knit that big of a piece! So I'm taking suggestions on a quick knit for shawls. I want to use the Merino Tencel yarn for a sample in my booth, I think the yarn will have a fabulous drape. Some thing I'm not quitting is my three sock samples. I started these all at Sock Summit and I'm to the gusset on all three! There just plain socks, but it's so much fun knitting with the yarn. I really like how the colors are coming together. The bottom sock is Rose City, the top left is Peacock, BaaaBoo yarn, and the right is Peacock on super wash merino.

Something else I'm not quitting on is e sleeping through the night. After having too many nights with not enough sleep I decided it was time to try sleep training again. I'm doing a modified version, what works for us essentially. e sleeps in a bed right next to ours so when he wakes up now I shush him back to sleep or pick him up and bounce around until he's back down. Before I would just nurse and go back to sleep. I realized he was waking up for nothing when I was able to get him back to sleep with no nurse in just a few minutes. This is night three and it's going really well. He's even going to bed earlier. I know there might be a bad night here or there but for now it seems to be working. It seems like developmentally he was ready for this step. He just got these slippers from Nana Kelley and he loved wearing them around!

There hasn't been a lot on the weaving front, but I did get it warped and started weaving last week. I'm not crazy about the tension. I'm thinking about stopping by Ruth's Weaving Studio again to get some pointers. Here's what it looks like all warped. Excuse the messy table in the background! I just realized that it wasn't totally set up in this picture, but you get the point!

Want to know the new places you can find Knitted Wit yarn and fiber? If you are ever in St Paul Minnesota visit The Yarnery. I had the chance to meet the lovely ladies at Lantern Moon's vendor party before Sock Summit started. e actually introduced us, he's pretty good about meeting EVERYbody in the room! I kept running into the ladies at the show and they stopped by at the end to bring some yarn home with them. And if you get to visit Diva Yarn and Trim in Porttownsend Washington you are a lucky duck! Lois, the owner, is a dear. She brought yarn and fiber back to the shop, stop by if you get a chance! She took some treasures. There's a few more places you'll be able to find Knitted Wit soon. Details to follow! I have been trying to put more in the shop too take a peak over there.

drive by blogging!

So my work schedule is in flux and now I won't have a day off for me until Thursday (instead of tomorrow!). So I thought I'd show you what a few other people are up to. Maia, one of my favorite people to see at shows, is doing this with some of my Spinning Socks Fiber. It's a Colonial SuperWash that is a dream to spin. I can't believe how fast she is! It makes me want to jump on my wheel and crank one out. Michele just caught the spinning bug and did this yesterday. She used Silky Merino, a 50/50 blend of silk and merino in Hydrangea. Gail stopped by and snapped some photos of the booth. She is amazing! It's always great running into her. While Courtney wasn't there, her mom and dad did a great job of rounding up some goods and stories! It was great getting to meet them too. Her loot is here and I can't wait to see what she makes with the Rose City yarn. I'll be watching here to see what happens with School Supplies and Take Steps. It's so exciting to see my little yarn babies out in the world! I better run, e is on a destructive path!

The Decent

Well I survived the Summit. It was a pretty amazing weekend, I think I'm still decompressing in a lot of ways. Some really great contacts were made, a couple new yarn shops are carrying my yarn and fiber! Hopefully an online store soon as well. I think I'm still overwhelmed by it all. I was able to see friends that I only see at shows, great to get some hugs. I also met people I only see online. The collision of virtual and reality is a strange thing. Let's not forget all the famous people I saw! Anne Hanson, Stephanie, Tina, Barbara Walker, Ann Budd, all the members of ST1 and 2. I'm sorry for the lack of links and pics. I think my brain is a little on survival mode! I'll get back here in the next day or so to add some more info and specifics! Thanks for all of you that stopped by the booth!

one more thing

So I forgot a few things from my last post. I was getting pretty tired, what can I say! I'm a big believer in stating your intent or purpose. From that I can create a positive future for my self. I don't want to be all silly about this but if I don't say what I want to come out of Sock Summit how will people know? So what I would like Sock Summit to accomplish for me: i would love to have a designer like my yarn and want me to dye for a few of their patterns. I would love to gain wholesale accounts. I would love for this to solidify me as a legit business. I would love for an online shop to carry my yarn. I would love for the people I'm featuring in my booth to be equally successful. I feel like there is something for everyone for sale in the booth! I would also like to get into a few more shows and hopefully this will be a spring board for that. So hopefully I will be successful enough at this show to continue dyeing. If you're in town stop by and say hi! Booth #223.

where does the time go?!

So my sister in law had a beautiful baby boy. She did an amazing job and is continuing to do one now as a mama. It's been almost two weeks!

I guess the world might not know, but we've been having a HEAT wave here in Portland. Day nine of above 90 degree weather. There were several above 100. On one of those days the family headed up to Trillium Lake on Mount Hood. Gorgeous. It was a magical little lake. No motor boats are allowed so it was very quiet that way. There weren't a ton of people so there was space for everybody. Swimming in a warm lake looking at Mount Hood was incredible. Sadly I don't have pictures loaded on flickr yet so just try to imagine until I get them up! I have decided that one weekend a year all the Kelley's are going camping up there. It was so close and easy to get to. There is also a foot path all the way around. It just seems like the perfect place to make some great family memories. Especially now that there is a cousin!

So the big thing around here lately is Sock Summit of course. I've been dyeing my fingers to the bone and reskeining. I have one more day left, tomorrow, to get everything ready. Then I work tuesday plus get a hair cut (it's been a year and a half since I had a real one)! On Wednesday we'll pick up the Uhaul, pack up, head to Deb's pre sock summit lunch, then to the convention center!!! Then Thursday the market opens and the real fun begins. I'm so excited to meet everybody in person. Stalking ravelry lately has been great but real live people will be fun. In the middle of all this fun e might go to Oma and Grandmama's house for a sleep over. It would be the first night e's away from us. I'm nervous, can you tell? Anyways the non stop fun of Sock Summit is coming up. Stop by and say hi if you attend. I'll try to take lots of pictures and tell you all about it next week!

newness

So there are a lot of new things going on in my world. I have new yarns debuting at Sock Summit. The new sock yarns include: super wash merino, Shine (merino/tencel), Baaaboo (merino/bamboo/nylon), and last but not least a Falkland super wash sport weight yarn. I know some knitters prefer sport over fingering!

I submitted two of my new color ways for Dye For Glory, a contest hosted by Ravelry for Sock Summit vendors. Peacock, super wash merino. Next up, Peacock using Shine as yarn base.

And just to wet the appetite for new color ways to be revealed at sock summit
One of those yarns is going to be in a swag bag for Deb's Pre Sock Summit Lunch. I can't wait!

So what else is new in life? E has a new shift at work. All breakfast shifts. I haven't had help in the morning with e for what feels like a month. I'm a little over it. But we get more time with E this way so that's a great trade off. I have my lap top back, yay! It makes it a lot easier to squeeze in some blogging (like this right now!). The other super almost new thing is a baby. My sister in law is in labor right now! I can't sleep, I'm so excited and wondering how everything is going. I'll keep you posted and hopefully will have a picture to show.

Alone

I was alone today. At my house. For 5 1/2 hours. That hasn't happened since e was born. Wondering where e is? He's at school (daycare)! Just down the street from house, about a block away. I did shed a few tears, but there are a lot of positives and that's what I'm focusing on.

We've had a busy few weeks with no signs of slowing down. After returning from Washington, doing the walk, drawing names for prizes (which still haven't made it to the mail! So sorry!), and coming down with the plague, we hit the road again. Daisy, e and I traveled down to Powers, Oregon for the Fourth of July. The town did not disappoint. It was an amazing weekend. The only problem was I didn't get any work done. I reskeined maybe a dozen skeins, out of the 120 I brought. Not a lot done!

When we got back home I made a calendar and realized how little time is left between now and Sock Summit. Besides the small panic attack, I feel pretty good about the schedule. I just can't have any unexpected life events. There is a baby coming in the family here in portland and that is all that is allowed to happen!

So the great thing about dyeing here alone is how much I got done. I came up with about five color ways that I'm excited to make again. One is for the dye for glory competition over on Ravelry. I hope to have mine up on Monday. The other colors are for souvenir skeins from Sock Summit. I have next Monday to my self so I'm hoping to post some pictures. I gotta run, I only have 30 minutes left to finish soaking today's yarn. Again, sorry to the winners, I'll try to get to the post office this week!

And the Winner's Are

Sally is the winner of the Knitting Needle case from Lantern Moon. Michele won the skein of blue sock yarn, even though she doesn't knit socks! Yvonne won the braid of fiber for spinning. My coworker Nichole won the lavender sachets. Helen won the skein of yarn dyed to her liking. Daisy won the newsletter from Deb and a skein of yarn to accompany it. Sandra won the skein of hand spun yarn. Thank you to everyone who donated money! Then walk was a great family event and I'll share pictures as soon as I get them from Daisy!

A lot of behind the scene action around here. I'm almost done with a secret little baby project, I'll put up pictures next week. Lot's of dyeing and general getting ready for Sock Summit. I'm in booth #223, please visit!

Prize Basket

Here are the prizes currently in the basket that you, yes you! could win. I lovely skein of hand spun merino silk yarn, a four ounce skein of fingering weight yarn, a circular knitting needle case from Lantern Moon, and a bundle of lavender sachets. Not pictured is a copy of An Omnibus plus a skein of yarn to knit the pattern that is included.

After looking at the prize basket I thought it was a little empty. So I've added a skein of fingering weight yarn to dye for the winner. You tell me about your favorite colors and I'll dye it for you! Your choice of yarn includes super wash merino, merino/bamboo, or merino/tencel. For every $5 you donate to Take Steps your name will be entered into a drawing. If you donate $25, your name is entered 5 times!! Just click on the button that says Support Lorajean Now! and donate away.

I'm doing the walk because Crohn's Disease affects my family's life directly. My husband, E, has Crohn's disease. I am not a fan of the disease. E is in good health compared to a lot of people with the disease. He hasn't had a surgery to remove intestines in close to 20 years. Right now he is having a flair up. His diet is incredibly limited, it is really hard to walk through grocery stores and look at all the food you can't eat. It is also difficult to have a stomach ache every time you eat. Research is making a difference though. This is an autoimmune disease, an inflammatory one. Researchers are finding new treatments to keep the inflammation down as well as treat other issues that arise with an autoimmune disorder. Money raised from this walk will help continue research.

Donated money will also go to supporting kids going to a camp in Northern California that is focused on youth with Crohn's or Colitis. I can only imagine what a retreat this is for youth. Not being able to eat the same as your peers is an incredibly isolating experience. Being surrounded by kids who have been through similar circumstances and getting to participate in normal camp activities is a great releif!

I could go on and on about this topic, but I'll stop. Thank you so much in advance for donating if you are able to. The contest will close Saturday, June 20th at 11am. The winners will be chosen and announced June 21st.

I'm going out of town this weekend to round up some donation in one of my hometowns. I'll be back next week. Hope you have a great week end.

Planning Ahead

e almost one year ago to the day!
This summer feels like the busiest one in my life! Besides all the yarn fun in my future, there are several babies being born. The first one that is expected will be e's cousin. I can't wait to meet the little babe. I'm almost finished with the quilt from my class. Tomorrow night I'm hoping to get some hands on help from the teacher on putting all the squares together. We're doing a quilt as you go method, so all my blocks are already quilted. Once they are sewn together I'll attach binding. I'm nervous about that part too! I'm taking a trip this weekend and I think that might be a good project to bring along when e takes a nap. Sort of wishful thinking that I'll get something done, but idle hands...

All the yarn and fiber I dyed on Monday is just about dried. Tomorrow my mom is coming back over to babysit! so hopefully I'll get it all put away before I leave on Saturday. I'm going to a wedding on my way up to Blaine. I'm so excited to see friends and family for a few days! Everybody met e last summer when he was three and a half months old. He cut his first tooth up there! Now he's walking and talking like a cave man! Lots of grunts and fingering pointing. I'm a little nervous about being gone for five nights with just me and e. Mainly about how tired I'll be when I get home! But all the kids will be home and plenty of entertainment with e! I'm also a little nervous that Sock Summit is 8 weeks away now and I'm loosing two dye days! But two is that many and I'll get to see family! When I get back my friend Daisy will be watching e a couple days a week while I dye. e is in love with Daisy, they always have a great time. Knowing she'll be watching him makes me feel more confident that I'll get loads done! Gosh I sound like a big pile of anxiety!

Come back tomorrow when I'm a little calmer. I'll be reviewing all the prizes in the basket you could win!

Thank you!!

Wow there are some generous people out there!! Lavender Sheep is one of them. She has great yarn and fiber if you are in the market! I also got some donations from some old employers over the weekend. Reese from 8 Women contributed and so did Bruce and Mary, the owners of Bread and Ink Cafe. I have to say that I am proud to have worked at such a great portland institute! They have the new addition of the Waffle Window, which will be two years old in August so not super new! I spend a lot of fun tickets at this place. Mary is a waffle genius! With my off line donations and online donations I think I am close to $260. Half way there people! I think I need to add some non knitting prizes to the basket since I have so many people that are donating that aren't knitters (yet, mhaw ha ha ha!) Lavender sachets are always in need I think, so lets through a set of those in the basket! You can donate here, for every $5 donated your name will be entered to win a fabulous prize. So far there is a skein of hand spun yarn, a skein of fingering weight yarn that I dyed, a circular knitting needle case, lovely lavender sachet, and a newsletter with yarn to accompany the pattern included! Good luck!



I've been super busy making skeins out of yarn on cones, but thankfully it's going pretty fast. Tomorrow my mom is coming over to watch e while I get some dyeing done. I always feel antsy before a big dye day. I get nervous that I won't get enough done. There's not a quota, but I do have a lot to do between now and August 5th. I have a lot more time in July than this month and I need to keep reminding my self that. For now I think I'm going to go turn a heel on my little sample sock.

It's Official

I'm allergic to wool. I found out I'm allergic to alpaca a couple of winters ago when I bought the cutest hat and glove set. After a week I had a lovely rash around my head where the hat sat. Then when I started nursing I used lanolin for all the ouchies I had but had a rash after a few uses. So yesterday I was separating the bump of merino and bfl I just got from Ashland Bay and started itching like crazy. I discovered a baby wipe cleans all the itches off my hands and face quickly and I can move on to the next task. So I'm just going to be careful. Grrr.

On to better news. I also picked up some new fingering weight yarn from Ashland Bay. Merino/bamboo/nylon blend and a Merino/tencel blend. I'm so excited about both. Besides socks I think they'll be lovely as baby clothes and shawls. Especially the tencel blend. I plan on dyeing this monday so I'll post some results soon.

The walk!! So, I had two people contribute so far. Thank you Michele and Helen! I'm so thankful you participated. They are going to be winning a lot of prizes. So if you want to get your name in the hat so Michele and Helen don't win everything, donate $5. For every $5 you donate your name will be entered once. Give $25, you are entered 5 times!! Another prize being added to the basket is a circular knitting needle case from Lantern Moon.
They have such gorgeous things!

I'm working on a little tutorial, my first so be gentle. I'm just testing out the sample right now. And I just cast off my glove sample and my needles are nice and warmed up to start the little sock from the last post. Thank you for the input too. I need to get out my swift so I'll have some yarn for the commute. Enjoy the weekend!

Drum Roll Please

And the winners are.... 79 and 50! So that would make it...Marit whose "favorite charity is Norwegian Mission Society. We are a woman's group that keep a raffle to raise money once a year. This year I am knitting doll clothes!" So fantastic. She is the winner of the handspun yarn. And Melissa is the winner of the lavender sachets. From Melissa, "My husband and I do a lot of random stuff/giving, but we're going to be working with the UN in central Asia with our little one for 6 months supplying clean water!" I'll be emailing both of you to get addresses and off the prizes go. It turns out I'm a bit of a winner too! From ="http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/?p=821">Sew Mama Sew, the host of the big give-a-way, I won a bag of remnants and scraps. I can't wait to see what they are and what I'm going to use them for!

That is all for now, but watch out! There is a lot more happening here. There is lots of yarn and fiber to choose from in the shop and Sock Summit excitement abounds around here! I also have a prize to add to the basket for donations made to Taking Steps. If you can give $5 you will be entered into the drawing! I'll see you back here really soon!



Can you help me decide? I don't know which yarn to use next for some samples at Sock Summit. I'm going to do a baby monkey sock and a baby jaywalker! Which goes with which do you think?

Give-A-Way Day!!

Today was the big sock summit registration. I registered for the luminary panel. I'm really hoping that I'll be alive to attend. It's the 'closing ceremonies' for the event, but I'm a little concerned that I'll want to crawl under my table and sleep! I have to say that registering made me feel excited and like I was apart of a big moment. I was struggling with thousands of other people to register!!

I had a fabulous photo shoot on Sunday, thanks to auntie for baby sitting! Here's a little preview of what's going in the shop, hopefully everything will be up on Sunday, May 31st.


I think I should also add something to the prize basket today! For every $5 that is donated to Taking Steps your name will be entered to win some fabulous prizes. So far there is a skein of handspun yarn, and fingering weight yarn. Lovely Deb Accuardi has donated June's issue of her newsletter with a skein of yarn to knit the included pattern. I love her newsletter! I'm one of the dyer's coming up even. Deb has some amazing things going on: a few retreats in the works, a sock/lunch club, a pre sock summit lunch, a pod cast and a blog. I'm tired thinking of all that work!! I'm lucky to be attending the pre sock summit lunch and getting to dye yarn to accompany one of the courses!! Being a part of this fundraiser is very timely for our family. E has been experiencing a lot of symptoms of his crohn's disease.

So on to the give a way! If you're new and you stuck around for this, thanks! Leave me a comment about your favorite charity and how you like to fundraise/volunteer/assist them. Thanks again for participating in Sew Mama Sew's fun day!
You have until May 31st to comment and then I will pick the winner and ship off the prize! So the give a way is...A little treat I've sewed and some handspun yarn.

If you don't knit and you win that prize we'll come up with something different!

Let the Fundraising Begin!

So I figured out how to link you to the page for donating to the Take Steps walk. This is a walk to help raise money for Crohn's and Colitis research. Money also goes to community events for people with Crohn's/Colitis. As a little incentive for giving to a good cause there will be some prizes. For every $5 donated your name will be put in the hat and drawn for a prize. Let me peruse the stash of Knitted Wit for a fine prize...oooh, a lovely handspun skein!
This yarn is called confused, merino/silk, 100y. Lovely!

The next prize is a skein of fingering weight yarn or better known as sock yarn! Blue Sky is 4 oz, 400 yards of 100% superwash merino.

There are more prizes to come! For every $5 you donate you're name will be entered once, the more you give the better the odds!


Now on to a little sock summit preview. I started knitting up some samples, according to people on ravelry, they want samples. I started these last night, little socks from Nancy Bush's book Knitting Vintage Socks. I believe she's teaching at Sock Summit! I know there's not much there yet, but the sock is for a little child and I am using size 0. I think a little baby hat would be a great sample. I need to go troll ravelry and see what comes up! I'll add that to the agenda today, along with a photo shoot!! My sister and nephew are going to come play with e today while I shoot some yarn and fiber. My shop is so sad lately, and I have a ton of new fingering yarn to add.

I hope you are having a great memorial day weekend, the weather here in portland could not be any better!
eta the link to donate. DUH!!

Dur!

I just realized all things I forgot to include in the post I just posted!! But there's loads of info that I think needs it's own space.

*Sock Summit is approaching fast. I would love to collect socks to send to afghans for Afghans. Please start knitting now, make sure to follow the guide lines. Drop them off at my booth and get a little gift from me. I'll forward the whole she-bang down to San Francisco!

*May 27 is Give A Way Day with the help from Sew Mama Sew I couldn't link to there blog, it was acting strange. Respond to the blog post for May 27th and you'll be entered in a drawing for a prize. I'm not sure all of what I'm doing yet, so stick around! Hopefully there blog will be fixed, I'm forgetting some details too I think! They will have an amazing list of bloggers participating.

*The Take Steps walk is coming up. This is a fundraiser for Crohn's and Colitis. I'm really excited to be participating this year! I'll be hosting a little donation drive here with prizes as a little motivation. Not all knitting prizes either! I'm so excited. I just made a team, Team Smelley! It's a little joke with me and E. My last name was Smith, his is Kelley. Combine them and you have Smelley! So, I'll figure out how you can just click and pledge and get back to you. I put the team goal at $1,000! A little ambitious I know, but I'm planning on hitting up everybody I know!! Even if it's $5 at a time, we'll get there.

Whew. I think those are the big things I've been meaning to get up here! Now I have to got cut some squares!

Star Sightings

I was in Cool Cottons today when I spotted a local blogger. Well, e actually tried to help her pick out fabric, he has pretty good taste too. Alicia is so nice! I didn't introduce myself, but she was very friendly just like on her blog. Anyways, I was there picking out some sashing for my first baby quilt. I have all the squares made, I need to now assemble and and actually quilt. As soon as I'm done typing I'm going to cut out the back and get a move on this project. The baby shower is June 28, yikes!!

Another little meeting I had was out at Ashland Bay Fiber. I'm switching my base fiber to them instead of Louet. It's nice to be able to drive out and pick it up. Very lovely people too. I'm dying to dye. I've started some more re-skeining in the mean time. I don't think I'll be able to actually dye until June. I seem to have a shortage of sitters. So in the mean time I'm trying to get other things tied up before Sock Summit completely consumes my life. I have to say I'm a little overwhelmed by the opportunity. I really want to make sure I take full advantage of it!

This is what e was up to last blog post!

A Number of First's

It's been busy around here, and not all fiber related. I started a quilting class, in March maybe, where we meet once a month and learn how to make a square. I've learned so much in just the two classes. And probably all the practice I've been getting. To be able to craft as a job would be amazing. I love the sewing but miss the spinning. I was just browsing etsy and drooled quite a bit over the rovings. I don't know what it is about braids of color, they get me every time! But I didn't buy any. I'm placing a huge order for dyeing materials, I can't wait to get started for Sock Summit.

Okay, back to Firsts. So there's the sewing, there's also a sock club. I finished dyeing and re-skeining all 200 skeins of yarn. Yowzer! That was some work. I would love to participate in any club like that again. I learned a lot of great things and feel pretty privileged to be apart of it. I hope all the members like the colors. It's pretty nerve racking doing all that work and not knowing if people are going to like it.

The biggest first is that e turned one this weekend. We had such a great party. There were tons of favorite family and friends. We did miss a few people, but hopefully we'll see them soon. e is also walking! He has been for some time, but I haven't been around here for a while. So with the nice weather and e walking he can play out side and I can type to my heart's content! The only down side is that our back patio is pretty chaotic!

So I'm hoping to get some spinning done while e plays out side. I've been very inspired by the etsy perusing. Other things I'm hoping to accomplish are continued sewing, lots of babies coming. Lots of dyeing with Sock Summit coming up. I'm also hoping to keep the shop updated. Right now those feel a little lofty, but a little discipline can go a long way.

I just got the cutest pictures of e eating oregano. too cute! So only the one picture and no links, but I'm here! I want to learn how to use my flickr account to link pictures and montages. See you around real soon.

eta e's photo!

a little embarassed

I can't believe it's been almost a month! Yikes. It's been busy around here. I've knit a pair of socks, finished one of another pair. Knit a square or two, started the quilt class. Dyed my brains out. I'm sure there have been other crafty endeavors. e has started walking, hasn't quite realized it though. He is not sleeping at night, meaning I'm not sleeping at night. He also now has a crib that lives in the room with my computer. Meaning blogging is a little harder to do. But we did get E's computer working again and it's in the living room which means I can compute while e sleeps. So there is a quick up date. I have a great view at this computer though. Our plum tree is just outside the window with beautiful white lacy flowers.

Oh yeah, I went a blazer game! SO MUCH FUN!! We are huge blazer fans, got cable just to watch the games. We went to the hoop n loop game. We (E and I) got some fun bags with treats. I contributed a little something to promote me. I attached my business card to soak samples. Big fan of soak. We also got Channing Frye bobble dolls. I heart Channing Frye. He's my blazer boyfriend. Silly, I know. My friend baby sat e so I had a fun date with big E, just our second since little e came along.

on the Knitted Wit front, I'm number 8 on the wait list for Black Sheep Gathering. I'm waiting to hear back from SOAR and I was accepted into Sock Summit. I'm debating on whether or not to do Montavilla Farmer's Market. Hmmm...Oh yeah. The dyeing. I finished dyeing for the sock club. Sweet relief. I still have to re skein everything and package it up. BUT the big labor part is over. Thank heavens I have an electric skein winder.

gotta clean the house while I can!

busy busy busy...

Well I've been knitting up a storm.  I'm two-thirds of the way through a shawl.  I want it to be done in the next few days...slightly wishful thinking I know.  Then I heard about a little campaign that Afghans for Afghans is doing and I jumped on that bandwagon.  I started some worsted weight socks, toe up.  I started to do them two at a tim on two circular needles but I felt a little too tangled up.  So now I'm knitting them separately.  I'm planning on going to Lantern Moon's party tomorrow so maybe I'll pick up a pointer or two about how to work it a little better.

On the dye front, I've started the big job for the sock club.  Wow, it's going to take a few more dye days than I expected.  But I have some sitters lined up this month and hopefully it will be done by april.  I want to start getting ready for Sock Summit, which I was accepted as a vendor!  I also applied for SOAR and Black Sheep Gathering.  I'm a little nervous, but very excited.  In anticipation for all this work I ordered an electric skein winder from crazy monkey.  I have a huge tub of dyed yarn that needs to be reskeined, I can't wait to get that done!

I was so excited about my Madrona buys that I over spun my hand and had some numbness. My hands still feel a little funny but I'm chalking it up to too much knitting and texting.  I've decided to cut out the texting.  I'm excited to get back to the spinning though.  I have some beautiful singles to ply and SO much roving to spin up.  I'm considering doing the Montavilla Farmer's Market again and the hand spun yarn does pretty well there.  

On the home front it's been busy.  The calendar seems to get more full each month.  e is now almost 10 months old.  Weighs a little more than 22 pounds.  Crawls everywhere and climbs on anything that holds still long enough.  He also has a cold currently.  Oh the snot. I really want this one to pass.  He has also surprised me with a few l-0-n-g naps and I've gotten a few things done.  Like cleaning up my desk and office.  I love the way it looks right now.  I'm itchy to start something!  But I really need to get back to the socks.  And the shawl.  And the...  

taking a minute

I want to update here so I'm going to make a quick list of the new happenings

1) Knitted Wit is now available in Kodiak Alaska!  Can you believe it?  I'm so excited.  If you know of a yarn shop you think should carry Knitted Wit let me know.  How about if they sell my yarn, you get a nice thank you treat?!  I just made that up, very fun.

2) e is crawling.  

3) madrona rocked my world.  I kineared the Harlot but the pick didn't turn out super well.  I got a bunch of fiber to re-fill the stash.  I've been getting so much spinning done I needed a little more fuel.

4) I've been knitting a special project and haven't been working on much else.  I'm excepting that life is now one or the other, not everything all at once.

5) I really want to have a booth at madrona next year.  

6) I'm going to try and be a vendor at Black Sheep Gathering and SOAR (linkey might not work).  I really hope I get in.

7) I was informed today that I'm big time dyer because I'm dyeing for the Knit-Purl sock club.  That made the ego feel real good.

8) I'm looking forward to dyeing for Deb's newsletter.  Again, feeling pretty special getting to dye for a project.  She invited me to a little party where dyer's get to wear flowers.

9) I really need to charge the battery for the camera.  I can't remember when the last picture of e was taken.

10) wow, I think I took care of everything.  I like this list thing

11) oh yeah.  I went to a little spin meet up today.  I had e so I didn't spin, but I did bring my madrona fiber for show and tell.  I also got some knitting done when e napped.  

ta-ta for now

just do it.

It's amazing what happens when you just do it.  I picked up the knitting needles and knit.  And a week and half later I have a pair of baby socks, a scarf and almost one more baby sock completed. Of course the spinning has lingered but you can't have it all can you.  

Big news here.  I have yarn and roving waiting to go home with you at Cast One On!  It's a sweet little shop.

There are some other little projects in the works so watch out, you never know where Knitted Wit will be next!

Look at that!

I've been blogging for a year!  Over a year in fact.  I don't want to grind this into the ground any more so this is the last time I'll type it.  I wish I could blog more.  I know you'll still be my friend if I don't, so I'll move on.

Here's what been happening around here.  Lots of spinning.  Lots.  I had to go dig some out of the stash.  Very exciting.  I have my samples all dyed up for the sock club.  So excited to get the job done.  And I'm happy with the colors.  I don't think I'm aloud to show you here and now, so we'll wait.  Here's something new too.  You can now find my fingering yarn and roving on the way to the mountain!  Cast One On is now carrying Knitted Wit.  Yay!  It is such a cute shop.  Definitely want to move in!

I've been watching Michele's progress on her socks and I'm a little jealous.  I really want to start a pair of socks.  I have plenty of yarn, perfect needles.  Just lacking a little time.  I think I'm going to ban that word.  Time.  It's now forbidden.

In the e update of life:  he is crawling!  Officially crawling.  He's been inch worming all over the floor for months, but now he's on all fours.  He can return to a sitting position from being on his tummy, pull himself up to standing with just about anything.  And, sadly our first cold. Nothing like fishing snot out of a squirmy sad baby.  But I think we're going to make it.  He's napping now and I think I'm going to finish spinning some merino/tencel.  Happy Sunday!

moving on

It's been a hectic few weeks around here.  First I had inventory at the job, then we moved into the most unfortunate teething phase yet.  We are now out of that and fighting a little baby bug.  I'm hoping to drink and sleep it away.  And of course in the midst of all this life is more life.  Finding old friends on Facebook has been a hoot.  I just finished dyeing some samples for the sock club. And I've been spinning.  Life feels very satisfying right now.  I've added a few walks to the week and what a difference a little exercise makes.

I want to wright more but I think e is finally asleep.  Thank you grandma!  I'm going to go finish the bedroom curtains finally.  I better hop to!  

I'll try to be back sooner.

avoiding

So grandma is here baby sitting.  What a delight.  My desk is in nice tidy piles, I've cleared all the garbage.  I still have to file all the papers for 2008, both the family and business.  There are a many things to do but I want to keep hiding back here (where e can't see me).  So I thought I'd stop by here and say hello.  

Last time I think I caught you up on e.  I think there are new tricks every day.  This all leaves me with the less time to do _____ (fill in the blank).  All of my sitters have been snowed in or out of town.  I think personally I'm frustrated that there are so many projects to work on but no time. One project I'm avoiding is hemming a friends pants.  I almost forgot how long I was supposed to hem them to.  Grrr.  Then there is Knitted Wit.  I think I had an idea of what I wanted things to look like.  I need to readjust my expectations.  I keep reminding my self too that e will only be little for a short time and I can always craft when I'm 60, right?  

On that note, the wee one is fussing.

Happy New Year

It feels wonderful to be in 2009.  I'm not sure why there is such a relief, but I have a good feeling abut this year.  I'm a little sad I didn't do a reflection post yesterday, but I don't want to do one now.  I just want to look forward for some reason.  So how about an update instead!  

e is almost eight months old.  Last night he pulled himself up on his toy bin and stood for a few minutes.  It was pretty amazing.  I was excited that E and I were just sitting around watching all this.  He has seven teeth, I know all of them quite well.  He's been squootching (how do you spell that?!) across the floor to get shiny objects to then eat.  We've been doing finger sweeps in his mouth to prevent swallowing.  I'm pretty sure something sneaked through last night.

Well the tiger woke up too early and I have to move on with the day.  I'm looking forward to being here more, my thinking spot.  I've sure missed it.