Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

Thank you for all the lovely compliments on Debbi's pattern! She has earned them! The winner of the skein and pattern to make Spring Mix is Barbara G, and the winner of a pattern of your choice from Debbi is Jana! Congratulations!

A few things to let you know about:

1. I dyed up some fantastic USA Olympic inspired yarn. You can get it out at For Yarn's Sake! I think I might have out done Ralph Lauren.

2. I'm testing out some US grown, processed, spun super wash merino fingering weight yarn. I could not be more excited about this!!! Im pretty sure CSY members will get first crack at it! I haven't started dyeing for this yet, so go ahead and sign up!

3. Frances and I will be at Stitches West Friday and Saturday morning! Stop by booth 947 and say hello. I'm bringing yarn for a little trunk show! Thank you to A Needle Runs Through It for hosting me and Frances!!

Spring Mix Give Away!

Just a few weekends ago I was in sunny, w-a-r-m San Diego. The warmth was so good! While I was there Debbi Stone debuted a new pattern, Spring Mix, using my Single Fingering. It's a gorgeous pattern, a delicate lace that's easy to memorize.

thank you for the beautiful photo Debbi!

I have a skein to give and Debbi has generously offered to provide the pattern via Ravelry download. Hop over to her designer page and tell me which pattern you'd love to make. I'll draw two winners: one will get a kit to make Spring Mix, the second winner will get their favorite pattern from Debbi! Sounds like a win win win. I'll pick a winner Friday morning and ship out the yarn as soon as I have your address! 

Rose City Yarn Crawl Mystery Knit Along

Or as it will now be called: the RCYC MKAL! Much quicker!

Since this picture was taken I've done the first lace section. The first row took three tries, but gosh darn it I can count! 

I'm using Single Fingering in Toffee Crunch and Black Forest. There are so many tempting color combinations, it was super tough deciding I

on these two!! What colors and yarns are you using? Join us here in the rav group to post progress pictures and chat! 

Did you hear about the Yarn Ball? Tickets are almost sold out!! I have mine and I can't wait to see all the shawls knit up! Now to plan what Frances will wear ;)

On The Importance of Showering

Talking about showering may seem silly, but if you've ever been a new mom I think you know what I'm talking about. I don't care how the baby came to be with you, showering is important. We all feel better after one.

When we found out we were having our third baby I had some goals for postpartum to make it as easy for everybody as possible. One of my goals was showering everyday. Mainly for two reasons. The first one was I nurse. Milk is messy and everywhere in the first…while. And Frances is a spitter. And really, life is messy.

The other reason is more important I think. With the boys I felt like I couldn't take a break, the baby would need me, or Eric wouldn't be able to manage with out me. People! The world will not fall apart in the 20 minutes I'm in the shower. And yes, I take a 20 minute shower. I make sure that Frances is fed and then I don't feel like I'm mandatory while I shower. Eric can sooth, change a diaper, clothes or fix whatever ails her.

There are some days when I have to talk myself through this, that Eric is capable, I need the alone time, and Frances will live. I also think about what I am modeling to my family. That it's important to take care of myself, and they are a necessary part of the family. They have a role to play. When babies are so little, papas don't always play a large role. This is a way to force some bonding time.

So new papas, new mamas: shower! Help each other get that break! We call them showercations.

What are things you do for self care? Some stay at home parents I know have a standard of getting dressed to their socks so they're ready to go out the door. It is very easy to wear pajamas all the time! I'd love to hear how you care for yourself.

Happy New Year!

New year, fresh start! 2013 proved to be busier and different than I ever could have dreamed. Frances Jean has been with us for 6 weeks now, but I don't quite remember a time with out her. Her brothers are keeping a close eye on her, and are always happy to jump in and help.

I am a big fan of the new year. I love setting goals, having a focus, and setting out on a task. In no particular order here are some goals for the next year:

1. Blog once a week. It might not always be about Knitted Wit and that's okay. Ive been inspired by Fringe Association and January One's blog. Who inspires you? I don't have a blog feed anymore so I tend to just read the ones I come across on twitter or facebook. 

2. Craft in some way everyday. I've been following people on social media that are doing a make something everyday, so it's not just knitting or sewing, but also cooking. I'm going to focus on knitting, spinning, and sewing. It can be just 5 stitches knit, that is crafting. I want to take the time to do something with my hands every day. 

3. Self-Care is my theme for 2014. Number 2 falls under this self care. I get so wrapped up in Knitted Wit work that I don't often take time for myself or really stop working. Having children, especially a new born, are helping me with this but I can do better. I plan on making an appointment tomorrow to see the chiropractor. I have no idea why it's so hard to make time in my day to take care of myself, but I always find time to watch my story! With parents aging and having kids I want to be healthy for the long haul. I also want to be an example that I am worth the time to take care of. I think that of other people, so I must believe it for myself. 

So here's some proof. I wound up a ball and cast on. I've since done three rows, I'm up to 4 stitches. Watch out! 

What goals are you setting for the new year? What is your tactic for following through? 

Community Supported Yarn: Variegated

I'm bringing color back! (Sung to a tune by Justin Timberlake.) I'm so excited to announce the newest Community Supported Yarn (CSY) Variegated!! Variegated yarn was my first love and what I originally started dyeing. As my production changed so did the ease of dyeing variegated. I'm happy to say I have found a way to make it efficient and consistent.

What does a share or membership get you? Three skeins over three months, starting in September. On the 15th of each month, September, October, November, I'll ship you a skein(s) of yarn. I'll be dyeing fingering weight yarn: Bling, Single Fingering, and Super Wash Merino Fingering. Each skein is large enough to make the average shawl or pair of socks. The total for this CSY is $81, with shipping in the US $9, Canada $23.10. International, please contact for pricing. With each shipment comes a love letter from me. The inspiration for the color, pattern recommendations and information about upcoming events.

What is Community Supported Yarn? As a small business owner it can take a little extra capital to get projects started and completed. By buying a share or membership, you are helping Knitted Wit grow. What will the CSY fund this round? It really depends on membership. To upgrade to doing variegated to a wholesale capacity, I need to invest $450 into equipment. Ten shares will make this happen!

But I'm aiming a little higher. After five years, my winder is not meeting the capacity of Knitted Wit's growth. What a great problem to have! I'm planning on upgrading to a winder that will wind six skeins at a time or rewind six at a time. This will be double what I am able to do now! In order to purchase the new winder, vertical swifts, and upgrade to variegated dyeing 50 shares need to sell.

This CSY is also limited to 50 shares. Knitted Wit is growing and I am limited in time and woman power to get it all done! Grab your share(s) quick before they sell out!

Happy Spring!

Are your needles ready? Mine are all warmed up and read to cast on Fiar! I hope you'll be joining me! I went with this color combination and I am uber excited about the glowing Haute Pink. 

The yarn is all wound up, and in my giant boxy bag from A Needle Runs Through It. I've found that I really like the giant bags for growing projects, a lot less wrinkly! Oooh! Another thing I love, my Notability app on the ipad. I open all my pdf's in the app and I can write all over them and make notes. I'll be assigning codes to each color so I don't have to think about remembering what order I'm knitting the colors in. 

What are a few of your tips and tricks to staying neat and tidy with your knitting? Do you prefer your patterns printed out and in a plastic sleeve? I could use every tip and trick you have!

Ready, set, cast on! Happy Spring and happy KAL!!!