Procrastination (and a concert aftermath July 14 and 15)

I'm supposed to be doing a shop update. In fact, I should have started it on Thursday but between the heat and family visiting I haven't done much of anything useful at all. So, this is my concert aftermath, and then I'm going to start working on my shop update and if I don't get anything listed tonight I'm going to give away some yarn on Twitter. I don't think it'll come to that, but it's a good extra incentive to finally edit down those 400+ pictures I have.


Also, I should say I'm one of "those" fans but I'm not one of "THOSE" fans. I met some of THOSE fans on the 14th and I'm far too mellow to be that way.  Here, have a teaser picture:


Yes, that's a picture of my sock in progress at the Newark show. I am a knitter, after all! I like this tradition a la YarnHarlot and I think I'll continue to do this in the future. That means I need to knit more socks, I think!

More blather and eventually lots more pictures after the jump.

One of *those* fans.

Hi everyone! I'm sorry this is late. I got back from Boston on Sunday evening, absorbed dinner and proceeded to do nothing of use whatsoever for the rest of the day. But I can announce that the winner of July's giveaway is Lorraine!  Thanks for participating, everyone! I'm percolating what to give away for August, and I have an inkling of a good idea. It depends on what I can get done in the next couple weeks.

Meanwhile, since I've already exposed myself as one of "those" fans, I've decided I should just go with it and talk about my recent visit to Boston and the concert I attended. *cue excessive emoticon use* :D :D :D

Before I get into my concert aftermath, I also want to wax enthusiastic about the lamp I bought on Saturday. It's the Ikea Sunnan solar powered desk lamp. I bought it to see if it would be suitable as supplemental lighting for my festival booth and by gum it is!

My yarn needs good light to be appreciated, and sometimes venues get dim if the weather doesn't cooperate. I've been looking for something battery operated so I wouldn't have to deal with a power supply. This trumps that with its removable solar charging battery. I also wanted the light to be strong enough and warm enough so the yarn pops even if it's dark elsewhere. It's definitely bright enough, and it's immeasurably better than the smaller lamps I've tried. The light is a touch cool, but it's by far the best so far. It's much warmer than the led lights that managed to make even my skin tone sickly. At $20 each, they're inexpensive enough for me to get at least 3, and the flexible gooseneck means I can aim the light anywhere I want. It was a fortuitous discovery and I'm ridiculously happy with it. :D

Now, speaking of lighting up....

 
This picture is blurry, but I like it anyway. :D

More after the jump....

Busy busy busy! (And a shiny giveaway)

Summer is here with gorgeous weather and long days that still don't manage to be long enough. I'm working on the shop between family visiting and other family visiting and going to visit family, and in general lots of demands on my time. Keeping true to my promise to update the shop every 2-2.5 weeks, I'll be restocking the laceweight early next week. I have 32sk ready to photograph and I was going to do it this weekend but the niece who takes fantastic photographs will be visiting, so I hope to dragoon her into taking product photographs. This weekend I will be skeining and dyeing up the 6oz skeins of Jackrabbit instead.

But before I natter on about all and sundry, I should get to the giveaway! This month I'm giving away beads and hairsticks. Hairsticks because it's July and what better time to keep one's hair off one's neck? Beads because, well, they're beads! Specifically, these are seed beads suitable for beaded knitting and crochet. Beaded projects have become more and more popular, but it can be difficult to find beads. So, for all of you who ever thought about trying it out but haven't actually taken the leap, this is especially for you.


The giveaway consists of a pair of hairsticks, 40g of size 8/0 seed beads in Iris Silver (a shiny dark grey, suitable for lace weight), and 40g of size 6/0 seed beads in Rainbow Clear (suitable for fingering weight).

The hairsticks may look like knitting needles, but they're not. The tips are flat and start around a US#3 and they gradually grow to about a US#11 instead of having a consistent diameter. Still, if you're not too picky about gauge, they'd do in a knitting emergency. I asked a friend of mine to pick them up for me on a visit to Costa Rica. They have a beautiful grain and wood color, but I don't actually know what wood they are.

I'll let this giveaway run a little longer than usual, through the 9th since I'll be going up to Boston for a few days at the end of the week. Just post here and tell me what exciting things are going on with you this month! And believe me, even just relaxing in the back yard (I typo'ed that as "yarn") with a tall iced tea and a book sounds exciting right now.

As usual, double dipping with the Ravelry group is absolutely fine. And remember to leave a way for me to reach you if you win. Ravelry username is sufficient.

More gabbing about stuff after the jump.