lace yarn sale!

I've decided to put some lace weight yarns on sale this week.

Turns out that I will not be able to get the merino silk laceweight anymore that had a put up of 1300 yards/100g skein.
It will be slightly heavier in the future, at 875 yards/100g.

I only had a few of them left, and I put them on sale, together with some WINK lace.

So for all you amazing lace knitters, maybe there is something you might like?

sick computer

I am having laptop issues and am trying to avoid the computer ER...not sure yet.

Hope to be back with you in a few days, meanwhile I'll post to ravelry and Facebook from the family computer.

ETA: back to normal for now.

And now back to your regularly scheduled knitting.

in and out

A week ago Saturday I went to the Spinning Room in Altamont to bring them some more yarn. They now carry more of my watercolors II, WINK, and also merino dk!!

Here is an intrepid group of knitters gathered at the shop. They are working on a sock KAL. These women never cease to amaze me with their productivity.

Deidre, new and proud shop owner since last summer, is a multitasking talent - giving knitting advice over the phone while winding yarn for another customer.

Meanwhile, I had to do something much less exciting: inventory.

Hopefully soon, I'll be able to put some color on all that white yarn...

I've been dyeing a little bit at a time. Yesterday was a bit tricky. Since I have to turn off the heat in the house and open my back door for ventilation, I wear warm boots and many layers. Which is not so bad, usually. But yesterday whe wind blew so much that the flame under my pots kept being too wiggly. I got as far as one batch. Grateful for having a house and a coat to protect me from the elements.

Soon, there will be a new KAL.  This one is in honor of Meagheen's niece Anna, who was taken by cystic fibrosis last fall, at age 11. All the proceeds of the pattern will go to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and I will donate 10% of profits from the sale of the KITS to the foundation as well.

Once again, a project for a good cause, and some cheerful colors to look forward to for spring!

You will receive a Buttercup yellow skein - buttercups were Anna's favorite flowers. And  Green Leaf skein. The pattern will have instructions for mother /daughter pairs of socks.

Pre-orders are now available, and after February 1st each color will be available individually also.

Sign-ups to receive the pattern in your email box on February 1st are HERE. Follow the link text at the top of the page, put in your ravelry name and email, and you will be invoiced for the pattern.

Let me know if you have any questions!

yarn berg

Ever heard of an iceberg made of yarn? Me, neither.

But I had one this morning.

Last week I had washed a bunch of yarn to be dyed, and then didn't get to it. So I stored it in a wash basin on my enclosed front porch, for when I was ready to dye again today.

Except we've had some really cold temps, down to zero yesterday morning. My liquid soap was now solid, and I really should not have been surprised that I had a block of yarn (yeah usually the blocking comes after the knitting, I know....)

block o' yarn, unmolded

2 kilos of skeins, perched on my hand

yarn berg melting in hot water

Speaking of dyeing.....here's what I did last week...

above: merino sport

below: WINK

both in colorway Cloud Dancer.

The merino sport is the colorway and yarn selected by Meagheen for the June bonus battern of the sock club.
The WINK, I did just for fun. ;)

Both are available anytime, sock club or not, HERE.

white stuff

The week got away from me, the year is gaining momentum and time seems to pass a lot faster already -

but we got a bit of snow.

Well, some colder temperatures to make the puddles freeze after the rain.

And this much snow:

Just kidding, we got this much:  ;)

All pictures from my little walk up to the library today.

I have walked by this house and this yard a million times.
Never before have I noticed this birch tree:

How does a free-standing tree grow curves like that?

I have no segway for what comes next, but I do want to show you what came in the mail yesterday: my icelandic fleece. Soon as I opened it, I saw some nice vegetable matter and a dose of sheep poop. The two may have been intermingled a little. I am glad to know "my" little sheep is leading a healthy lifestyle. ;)

It is rolled up really nicely and inside a plastic bag, which is inside a box. I didn't want to disturb the whole fleece, but just peeking in there I found the creamiest softest white fiber...

this is going to be so much fun to spin.

light post

Crafty Girl and I went for an evening walk to other night, when we had a spell of freezing cold temperatures. She got all dressed up in her ski gear to find out if it would keep her warm enough.

I brought my camera to take some pictures of Christmas decorations, as they are sure to be coming down soon.

our little house

 neighbors

do not enter if on a diet

our local branch of the Albany Public Library - we love going there.

Fire House next door to the library



Yesterday, I took some packages to the post office and walked that too. So far I've been able to keep up with the walking.



(We won't talk about how some days I still just end up flat on my back at night. And can. not. move. another step.)

This is what the library looks like during the day:



it has a courtyard on the other side of the round part of the building, which took into consideration the trees which grew on the lot. I'll go and ask permission to take some pictures of it some time, I looks beautiful once there's snow out there...

and speaking of which: what's missing from this image??



Sock Club reminder!

Today is the day that the Touring Ireland through a Year of Socks pattern club was released - the January pattern is out!

There is a link to the e-book, which will have 12 patterns in it PLUS 2 bonus patterns. Each of the patterns will also be available individually. When you order the whole pattern club, for $36, you will get 14 gorgeous sock patterns. Everything from ankle socks to mid-calf socks to kilt hose....cables, lace, colorwork...so many different patterns, you will never be bored.

Each pattern uses my yarn, and now that the first one was released, you can see the colorway of the sock.

The yarn is available HERE.   :)

daily

It's the time of year for resolutions. Are you making any?

I try to stay away from them because inevitably, I can't keep them. However since I gained a bad back last fall and a wee bit of extra weight (don't tell me I didn't...you're not the one trying to fit into my pants. ;)) - I need to be resolute about walking.

So far I've been good about getting out every single day. Moving makes the back better, and I need to get this back better. I can barely sit through a movie these days, let alone sit and knit for a good spell. I can stand up alright, and I can lie down, everything else in between is no good for longer than an hour.

houses on Glendale St.

My friend Debbie in Seattle is one of my co-mods on the now huge Stash Down forum on ravelry. She has taken on the monumental task of getting us fit and taking care of ourselves, with great gusto and fun ideas. (I'll talk more about the forum itself at a later time).

With her positive energy, she has managed to get me out of my blogging doldrums. I had kind of lost my blogging mojo over the last several months, ....it was nothing I was doing on purpose, I didn't abandon the blog willingly. There was just no energy to spare at all. I had fallen into a black hole for several reasons, but now I am climbing out of it.

Grove Ave. in Albany

Fresh air and walking helps. Walking with an added purpose helps even more. I love to take pictures, and so now when I go out I take my camera. As far as I am able, I am getting out every day. I was going to give it two weeks before I said anything, to see if this new plan would take hold, but here I am.

All of today's pictures are from a very short walk I took in our neighborhood. (It's 19 degrees out and a windchill that goes right through you.)

I love the lawn decorations....we don't see them too much around here anymore, I think they are priceless...

There will be days where I'll be glad if there's one good photograph. But the point is to keep at it and not give up.

be still

my heart: it appears that I've won a whole unskirted icelandic sheep fleece in a raffle on ravelry.

Dear Husband just said: oh, that will make a nice cat bed! Before saying: it will be a good learning experience for all of us.

Any and all advice, links, You Tube videos you can offer me will be greatly appreciated.

I have never done any skirting/cleaning/carding before.

The fleece will be mostly white with some moorit parts. I could have had a black one (yes! There were choices!), but I figured I'll be able to see the less desirable "additives" like vegetable matter etc. much better on a white fleece.

My biggest question right now: don't Icelandics have guard hairs? How do I deal with them?

new year, new day

Lots of plans are already being laid out for this year, days marked on the calendar, ranging from appointments to vacations to woolfests. Visits to and from. Yarn plans, knitting plans, travel plans, and plans that don't ask if you agree or not.

How is your brandnew leap/year shaping up? Hopefully there are still lots of days full of freedom to not plan so much, and shape as you go.

Our dinner plan for today -

brown rice, black eyed peas, kale, and cornbread.  A tradition I picked up after I moved here, symbolizing the wish for good luck and prosperity in the new year. If other days go as well as this first one, I will consider myself very lucky indeed.