Another milestone

I'm trying to be more disciplined about updating my shop and I plan to update about every 2 weeks in the future. In aid of that, I listed everything. And by everything, I mean everything. Even the skeins of Mountain Hare I was holding from 2009 because it sells so slowly is up in the shop. Which takes me to another milestone. I've passed 200 items listed in my shop. I'm at a comfortable 207 and the shop is well and truly full.

This is lucky #200 (linked to the shop):

It's Frou Frou in the Jackalope base. I know I did a lot of this colorway in May, but I love it.

This week I'll be dyeing laceweight and settling in to the new schedule and then next week my nieces visit. Never a dull moment!

Happy Solstice, everyone!

WWKIP "day"

I wanted to post something quick because I don't post enough, and I finished this today. Properly, I finished knitting it yesterday, but I blocked it this morning and it was dry in time for a picture before it got dark. The light is a little off, which is why the greens are so very green. But the color isn't so bad for all that. It's one 6oz skein of Jackrabbit in the Tidal Pool colorway.



This was the primary knitting I took to Nashville and really the only thing I worked on while there. I brought another project with me; yes I know it was only a 4 day trip but I always do this and never work on them. It's a thing.

The button is reversible since it's just 2 buttons sewn together like a cufflink and slipped into the first eyelet on either side. It's that hemlock ring modification again, only this time it was worked off a base of 7 repeats instead of 9. I think the shape as a capelet is better for showing off the pattern, although 9 works really well as a scarf.


I cast on on the airplane to Nashville and I was on row 37 when I got home. I worked it to row 56, so I got a decent amount done on the trip. I would have been further along but I found a small error and had to rip back several rows to fix it.

But this is about WWKIP "day", which was essentially all last week. It began the 11th and ended the 19th. On June 11th, I was still in Nashville. I had my knitting with me all day and you  know what? There is nothing better than a lazy day wandering around with one's knitting. We sat on the grass and I knit. We sat in a bar and I knit. We walked down the street and I knit. We listened to buskers and I knit. We watched fireworks and I knit.

I spent something like 6 hours knitting about as publicly as one human being can, because after all it was during a festival (although not at the festival). I know I was noticed and remarked upon because people talked to us about it. And I got to tell them it was World Wide Knit in Public Day. I say that's a job well done.

Knitters Represent!

I've got to go finish updating my shop, but I wanted to ask how was your WWKIP"day"? I'd love to hear your stories, however big or small.

Adventures in Nashville

I'm home and chipping away at the work I need to get done, but I wanted to post about this before the details became too hazy.

I haven't gone away on a trip in several years, so I was excited for a lot of reasons and not just the obvious. I had to remind myself repeatedly that I am actually capable of being a grown up in public and traveling to a strange city where they speak the same language as I, without getting permanently lost. Also, I took this trip with an old friend from grad school (Julie) and so would be able to make her navigate. This is very important given how I've turned getting lost into an art form.

First observation on the plane was that the river does some amazing things to the terrain. Second observation in the airport is that Nashville Int'l Airport is tiny. I realized over the course of the four days just how pocket sized Nashville is. With the car, we were never more than 20min away from anything, and that was if we hit rush hour traffic. Mind you, I realize that I may have unrealistic expectations growing up with New York as "the city" and Newark as "the airport".

So, Nashville was FOURTEEN DAYS into a heatwave of 90°F and up weather the day we arrived. The day we left, they were excited because Sunday was forecast to be "only" 89. It was a heat that just sapped the energy and turned us into melted puddles of people. The normal temperature for this time of year is a good 10-15 degrees cooler.

Thursday was the day of the event and we got up early to visit the Parthenon first. It's a full sized replica of the Greek building, but with all the friezes, etc, intact.

It was just the right size for something to occupy the morning, but I'll spare you pictures of the interior. There's a giant gilded sculpture of Athena inside, as well as replicas of the original stonework, etc.

More chatter and pics after the cut. 

Away from home

Hi, everyone! I'm sorry I'm late with the giveaway post. The winner is Andrea! I'll attempt to contact via the blog. Thanks for playing, everyone!

Meanwhile, thank everyone so much for making my shop sale a wonderful success. It's really made a difference in the trip I'm currently taking. I'm slightly fish out of water here in Nashville, and it's been so hot that wandering around has been difficult, but it's a lovely, friendly town and I'm so glad I was able to come here. This is a bit of my Thursday experience:


I've also learned some important things about how I work and how I should continue with the shop. I intend to update my shop with a more regular and predictable schedule, and I no longer have any excuses to procrastinate about editing photos. Editing and listing 43 colorways in 3 days is comparable to weaving in 200+ ends on a project. After that, everything else is peanuts!

I leave for home early tomorrow and I can't wait to get back to working on the shop. This trip has been a bit of a kick in the pants, and I want to keep the momentum up and the excitement percolating.

Now, I just need someone to tell me not to buy that hat....

Kermitflailing and shenanigasms

So, um, I just learned I won something. It's access to a private event with a musician/band I greatly enjoy.

On the downside, I was a second level winner which means I have to get there and stay there on my own dime, and it's in Nashville which means I can't just hop in the car (and sleep in it either). But dude, I am SO THERE.

In aid of actually being able to fund this trip (IT'S NEXT WEEK!), I'm having a sudden and inevitable SALE. If you know me, you know I rarely have sales; they make me nervous. But given how I'm shaking over this sudden trip, I don't think I'll notice any sale nerves at all.

The coupon code for 10% off is JuneOMG and the sale will run through June 7th so I can mail the orders before I go on the trip. For orders $50 and up, I will refund domestic shipping and cap international shipping at $5, refunding the difference.

A link to the shop.

And to play you out.... ... It autoplays, so I'm putting it behind a jump cut. I thought we used to be able to modify that setting?!

Yegads! (an anniversary video and a giveaway)

It's been another year! This is the second anniversary of my little shop and I've decided to mark this one by giving up some "secrets". OK, they weren't all that secret, but it sounds more interesting if I say they were.

The colorway that won the poll was Nebula, but since I had several pots going, I also included the runners up Red Desert and Purple Peacock. This is how the finished colorways look:

From left to right: Nebula, Purple Peacock, Red Desert, and a new colorway as yet unnamed that shows up at the end of the video. These are actual skeins dyed up in the video

I taped several hours of dyeing on Saturday and then clipped it down to a scant 30min. I hope it's interesting; I tried to be succinct but that's never been my strong point! *nibbles fingernails nervously*



And, since this is the first of the month I have a giveaway! I am giving away a skein of the Nebula that I dyed up in the video. I have two skeins that are on the cusp of underweight, hovering right at 100g. So I'm offering one up here and one up in my Ravelry group. Yes, one of these could be yours!

It's the Arctic Hare base, which is a sock/fingering weight yarn with superwash merino/nylon/silk/and real silver for that added glitz. It's very soft and perfect for much more than socks.

To enter this giveaway, just comment here. If you link to this giveaway in any other social networking venues (blog, twitter, FB, etc) mention it in your comment and each will count as another entry. I'll leave this one open through June 7th and select a random winner on June 8th. And yes, as always you can double dip with the Ravelry group to increase your chances as well. Just be sure to check back on June 8th or leave me some way to reach you if you win, Ravelry or twitter username is sufficient.

I'd love to hear what you think about the video and the colorways. These aren't in the shop yet because it's disgustingly, unseasonably hot out, but I hope to take pictures and get them listed before the week is out. I have a bunch of new colorways to go up as well and there's still a bit of a backlog from the winter, so there's plenty to keep my busy.

Keep cool and thanks for a great second year! I have high hopes for Year Three!