Cypress Hollow Yarn

I know I've told you about this yarn before but I'm going to gush again. Yes, it might have something to do with rereading the first book. I might have lost count on how many times I've read it. I was telling a friend about my book crush and she asked me why I kept picking up the book. Here's what I think: my life is a little on the full side. I don't want to say stress because that sounds negative, but there's a little stress involved in the fullness!

Rachael's created a wonderful little town for me to escape too. And the people there love my passion (fiber arts) like I do! They get me. My little boys don't always get that I want to knit, understandably, but Cypress Hollow folks do.

So after I reread How To Knit A Love Song, I went out to do some prep for Sock Summit. I needed to get all my Cypress Hollow Yarn ready. It was awesome twisting up the skeins that go with all my favorite book people.

I am beyond excited to read the next book, out in October I think. I can't wait to meet new friends and see how they're all connected. I'll end the gush now! I'll be back in a day or two with a Sock Summit schedule, pencil me in!

Meet Up

Holy Guacamole! It's almost Sock Summit time!! There's about a week left before people start arriving and the booth gets set up. There's been lots going on behind the curtain! I can't even remember where we left off. Let's just start with a meet up at Sock Summit!

I'll be hosting Carrie, from IrishGirlieKnits, in my booth on Friday from 12-1! There will be some copies of Honey Badger available and most of her patterns for sale in my booth all weekend. If you haven't had a chance to meet Carrie stop by, she is nicer than nice! There's talk of m&m's, and you know how I like treats!

There's talk of a Zen Rain Shawl meet up on Saturday. If you're a fan, knit one, or want to hang out with Michele in my booth start chanting Zen Rain in the comments! I'm thinking Saturday from 12-1 if there's an interest.

Speaking of patterns, I'm going to have some fabulous ones available! PDXKnitterati, IrishGirlieKnits, The Stitches of My Life Designs, and Steppingstone Fiber Creations. Wow! So much inspiration!!

I'm also debuting my new color line, Cascadia. Cascadia has been dreamt up from travels around Oregon. I'm so excited to share them! I snapped a quick picture of three of them, but I'll list all the names just for fun. Portlandia, Put A Bird On It, Tree Hugger, Nehalem Bay, Rose City, Snapped Dragon, Umpqua Valley. You might recognize a few of the names, but I changed them up a little for Sock Summit. Also, these will all be on a new yarn. A three ply super wash merino, and boy howdy is it soft! Each skein is 100 grams, 490 yards. I'm casting on a sock for a sample and can't wait!

That's what I got for now, I have 9 more skeins to rewind and I'm done! I'm hoping I can squeeze in another post before Sock Summit with all the last minute details.

July

I want to apologize now for being a little distant this month. My yarn arrives today (hopefully) or tomorrow to dye up for Sock Summit. That is in less than 20 days. YIKES!!! I'm not too freaked out about it but I know I'm going to be short on time with the boys home and trying to get new colors on new yarn.

Also not helping the distractions? Tour de Fleece. I've spun a lot since July 2nd! I have two cakes that need to be plied and I'm almost done with a giant 8 oz bump. I've realized in stash diving that my taste has changed since I've started spinning. I want to take pictures of the stash and put in up on Ravelry to trade/sell. The problem with stashing sometimes, outgrowing personal taste. Definitely makes me want to use up what I have now while I still like it!

Yet another distraction? Sewing!! My neighbor, the one who sewed that cute little bag for me, has been busy sewing and tricking me into joining her! I traced a pattern out last night and I'm hoping to cut it out today. I'm also going to get a couple of yards of fabric to make the boys a tent for the back yard. e will be in heaven!

I did get all my lace repeats done on Marrowstone. I need to pick up all my stitches and get to work. How are you doing on Marrowstone? What's keeping you busy/distracted this July?

ohoh!! One last thing. I dyed up July's shipment for the CSY/F. Still time to join for July/Aug/Sept. People, this month is beautiful!!!

Weekend Wrap Up

The boys and I made it down to Eugene on Friday and had a great time. Well, e probably had a better time than o. o was stuck in the stroller most of the time, he'll have plenty of fun next year! e was great with all the critters and made a few friends with the ranchers. It was great to see him so confident with the animals and meeting new people.

On Sunday night we hustled out to the beach to go camping for a few nights. Sadly we only lasted one night with all the rain we had on Monday. There is only so much you can do in a tent with a 1 and 3 year old! I managed to knit only a little on my Marrowstone Shawl. I have 3.5 repeats done of the lace. I love how clever I feel knitting the pattern!

Future fleece inspector

It was nice coming home a little early and having E watch the boys while I got work done. I had a chance to look at the calendar and start planning the next few weeks prep for Sock Summit. Almost induced a panic attack! Time to schedule some baby sitters! And in that light I have to scoot to get a little knitting in for the day.

Is anybody doing Tour de Fleece? I would love to but I'm not totally sure when I'll find the time.

Marrowstone KAL

Have you started yours? (Marrowstone Shawl) Solstice (Tuesday) was the cast on day and I did. I cast on. I even did a few rows. But that's about it. I now have one lace repeat done for the edging, but I'm going to rip back half of it I think. I forgot to knit or purl in a row and the pattern is a little off. I'll try dropping the stitches first to see if I can fix it that way. We're headed to the beach at the end of the weekend so I'm going to blast through the lace edging. I really like design, I think the yarn is a great fit.

I'm also knitting Summer Winds from Carrie. Easy squeezy pattern, perfect for sitting around the fire with. Small confession, my first time knitting with Bling. L-o-v-e it! I can't wait to find another project for the beautiful yarn.

Anne at For Yarn's Sake in Beaverton asked me to come up with a Portland Timber's color. I love it! Even if you aren't a soccer fan I think this yarn is fabulous. Now to find a name...

She also needed a Mariner's color. Again, I l-o-v-e it. I think it's beautiful! I'm thinking of calling it Mojo. Do you remember the ad campaign the mariners did?

The little tiny baby skein in the picture below is MCN (merino/cashmere/nylon). People! I wish you could feel how deliciously soft this yarn is! I have a few skeins to dye up this next week, let me know if you have any requests!

We're going camping in a few days, when I get back I'll have a little wrap up of our quick trip to Black Sheep Gathering. The boys had a blast! (o is waking up so forgive any editing errors! Gotta run!)

Time Warp

Sorry for the radio silence! I'm going to blame it on the boys and their busy body ways. o is walking in full force and climbing. He can climb up the chair and sit at the table. He can climb up the stairs to the slide at the park. He wants to go down the slide face first. Busy body only starts to cover it. He's also getting in six teeth. Thank you kids for taking the blame!

There's lots to cover and I think a list will help

• The winner of yarn and pattern for the next knit a long is Leigh! Thanks for participating in the last knit a long.
• Knit a long II starts next Tuesday on the Solstice. Marrowstone is a beautiful shawl and I think will be great in Shine. How about 25% off Shine with code KAL!
• Thank you for helping with the Stash 4 Cash! There are still some treasures in the previous post. Let me know what you are interested in and I'll ship it out.
• CSY/F went out today, it's a beauty! My sample knitter (neighbor!) is going to do a little baby sweater out of the scraps. I can't wait!
• Octavia has been blocked! Thank you Michele!
• I've been chaneling Gail and taking lots of pictures in the garden. What a gorgeous time of year.
• Last weekend the boys and I went up to the Land where all the Oma's live. Ur Oma turned 89 and we helped her celebrate!

Not too shabby for 89 right?! She was marching around the yarn pulling the boys singing german songs.

e loves to sing happy birthday and blow out candles so he was a big help!

Stash 4 Cash: Joplin Fundraiser

I've stashed dived and came up with some treasures! I was just going through the pictures and had some second guess on a few, but all the $$$ will go to Rebuild Joplin. There are a lot of ways to give, I'm choosing to donate all money that comes in from the sale of my stash to Bright Futures.

"Bright Futures funds will be used to eliminate barriers that stand in the way of a child’s education. Assistance such as tutoring, transportation, and providing for the basic needs of children will be the focus of this fund. You can learn more about Bright Futures atbrightfuturesjoplin.org."

Small disclaimer: I don't remember what I paid for everything. Let me know if my asking price is too expensive or too cheap--the money is going to help Joplin! So hopefully you'll think I should charge more ;)

Artyarns ultramerino4, 100% merino wool, 191 yards, 50 g. $8

Kids Seta, 70% mohair 30% silk, 230 yards, 25 grams. SOLD

Each cone consists of 1750 yards and is a full pound. Perfect for use in circular sock machines, intarsia patterns or multi-color work- great for socks, light weight sweaters, hats and fancy mittens, or how about that lacy scarf? Bartlettyarns Sport Weight is a 2 ply yarn, spun on the “woolen system” for a traditional home-spun appearance. Bartlettyarns Sport Weight is spun on the “woolen system” for a traditional home-spun appearance, consisting of two strands of the sport weight yarn. (borrowed straight from Bartlett Yarns) SOLD

Rainy Days & Wooly Dogs 100% merino, 4 ounces I think. SOLD

Rainy Days & Wooly Dogs 100% merino, 4 ounces I think. $10

Each cone consists of 1750 yards and is a full pound. Perfect for use in circular sock machines, intarsia patterns or multi-color work- great for socks, light weight sweaters, hats and fancy mittens, or how about that lacy scarf? Bartlettyarns Sport Weight is a 2 ply yarn, spun on the “woolen system” for a traditional home-spun appearance. Bartlettyarns Sport Weight is spun on the “woolen system” for a traditional home-spun appearance, consisting of two strands of the sport weight yarn. (borrowed straight from Bartlett Yarns) $15

Araucania, chunky wool. 100% wool, 131 yards, 100 grams 2 available $7 each

Lorna Laces, shepherd sport. 100% Superwash wool 200 yards, 70 grams SOLD

Malabrigo, lace weight. 100% baby merino wool, 470 yards 50 grams $5

dicentra 100% bfl, 4.9 oz, $12

(what's with the underling?!)

All yarn and fiber is stored in plastic bags and/or bins. Please email me or leave a comment on which one you'd like to purchase. As stash sells I'll edit the post. Depending on what you buy (skein v. cone and quantity) the shipping will vary. I'm pretty cheap when I mail though!

Thank you for helping me send money to people in need.

Are you having a sale on your blog? Let me know and I'll add the link.