August update...aka: Why I am not getting any fiber work done!

Today is going to be a great day!

I am spending my day at The Fiber Closet in Rockville, IN.  I'm getting caught up on a few things in the studio.

                                      

Honest... It's an organized mess!

Afternoon guests of The Fiber Closet will be the local Rug Hookers Group and a group of spinning ladies from Terre Haute in town for lunch.  They made a point to call & make sure the shop would be open.  Love that!!

Life has been crazy busy lately with garden vegetables to put up for winter & summer activities with the grandkids.

Carts of Corn!

Champion Bean Snapper

Life on the farm!

How are you celebrating wonderful month of August?

Cooling off after a hard day of work!

Enough

This poem is a favorite of mine.  It circulates as a story on Facebook occasionally and is often used in inspirational speeches.  I wish I knew the author but it is always credited to "anonymous".

Regardless, it touches my heart. I hope you enjoy it too.

I wish you enough

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how grey the day may appear.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.

I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

(Author unknown)

The Reason I Have Been Absent from the Blog

I realize I have been missing in action from the blog.

I should have posted a quick blurb explaining why ..... But I didn't.  So what follows is the condensed version.  

I Moved My Studio!!!

I am now located in the back of 

The Fiber Closet

"The Yarn Shop on the Square"

120 S. Market St.

Rockville, IN 47872

765-569-2953

This came about rather abruptly when Cheryl moved The Fiber Closet from her home to the new location on the square.  As I way of helping her out and increasing my productivity, I moved my studio into the back room.  All classes and activities that were located in my former space are still available in the new studio.

As an added bonus, The Fiber Closet is currently open 7 days a week. This works out well for me because if you wish to purchase any of my products, chances are you can make it into Rockville much easier than you could catch me at the home studio.   

I have been crazy busy helping her move & set up the new shop. So far I have only moved 2 looms in but expect to get the rest in this fall. I seem to be much more inspired by being located near all the fiber.  I especially love dye days when I can watch all the magic happen from my desk.

Also during this time frame I attended TNNA. The National Needles Arts summer show was in Columbus, OH in mid June.  As always, I had the best of times.  I love seeing all the new products coming out soon.  I took a couple of classes and attended a few events that I will tell you about soon.

We made a trip to SanFrancisco to visit Emily & Chris.  

Required trip to ImagiKnit

We celebrated a couple of very important birthdays in July.  Lily (4) and Liam (2) each got to spend a special day with Nana & Pop Pop.  There was toy shopping, special dinners, movies.  I am not sure who had more fun, the kids or us.  I do know who wore out first.....me!

Ok, That was the short ( haha) recap of my life recently.  Hopefully I will be back soon with more details on TNNA, the TKGA show in Indy and Stitches Midwest in Schaumburg

On the needles:

A vest for The Fiber Closet KAL

A Duo Shawlette

Swatches for several upcoming classes

Various UFO projects currently in hiding

Be kind! Be tolerant,

and as always......

Live a creative life!!

Baby Surprise Jacket Challenge

I work much better under pressure.  Otherwise, I tend to spend too much time on the internet, reading, dreaming or just generally wasting time.  So I created a nice little challenge for myself.  Let me start at the beginning.

I made a sweet little blue & white with blue teddy bear buttons Baby Surprise Jacket (BSJ) for Max.

When I tried it on him he looked so adorable!

 

 

While I was cooing over him....Liam looked at me with those big beautiful eyes that said "Nana, where is my sweater?"

Lily even wore Max's sweater around like a little shrug.
Then she insisted on wearing my sweater around for a bit.












So naturally I told them I would make them each one too.  I mean sweaters for grandkids are a must, right??

This is where my crazy kicks in.  I thought...."Oh, how cute would they look in matching little BSJ's for Easter pictures."  I knew I could get the same yarn in pink & green at The Fiber Closet.  BSJ's are quick, fun little knits.  So this would be a piece of cake.  Somewhere in the back of my mind the sane part was trying to tell me that Easter is early this year but I am very good at ignoring her.

So I decided I could totally do this but I might need a little help focusing.  That's where you come in.  If I post this all over Facebook, Twitter & the Blog.....I will have to be accountable.  I will have to finish on time!!

Mira Shawl by Michelle Miller FickleKnitter
Yarn is LaJolla by Baah Yarn

You will be there in the background (or in my face) saying ....  "Put that Mira Shawl down.  You didn't finish the JKnit / FickleKnitter  JKal on time so why are you trying to knit on it now. Get back to the business at hand!"  (Here is a quick pic of it...more on this in a separate post)




or
"This is not the time to organize the stash!  Quit stalling"

or
"Why are you playing around on the internet?  Don't you have baby knits to finish?"  You see, it is all about making myself accountable.

College Basketball March Madness is nearly upon us.  I plan to spend lots of time watching & rooting for my favorite teams.  A BSJ is certainly simple enough for me to knit while watching sports on tv.  See how this is all coming together?  It's like it was meant to be.

So I am off to knit a bit.  I started yesterday....twice.  Seems I can knit just fine but have trouble counting??
I will keep you posted on my progress and if you see me on FB or Twitter too much....Tell me to

"Get back to work!"

Edited to add:  Feel free to knit along with me.  Don't you have someone who needs a BSJ?

A Dreary, Drizzly Day

Yesterday it rained & rained & then rained some more.
The south field is beginning to
look like a large pond.

Today it has turned to a freezing drizzle.  Hopefully the ice build-up will be minor.  We have enough electrical problems around here recently without Mother Nature adding to them.

The only way to deal with this type of day is soup & knitting.  I put a huge kettle of beans on to simmer.  Great way to use up that Christmas ham bone that was taking up space in my freezer. (To all friends who don't eat meat, pork or beans, don't look!) My recipe for the beans: Soak them overnight, drain & rinse, cover with a few inches of fresh water, add the seasonings you prefer (I just use salt & pepper), diced onions and a ham bone.  Simmer all day on low.  I usually make a huge kettle full with about 4 lbs of dry beans.  I then freeze the soup in gallon zip bags for nights when I am in a hurry.





I am working on a new design series.
I hope to be able to share details with you soon.















In my spare time (hahahahahah) I am working on a couple of personal knitting projects.  One is a KAL with a favorite designer of mine, FickleKnitter.  I will share more on that the next time.  She deserves a post of her own.  I also am planning a future blog about the Jknit app.  I have become a fan.

The yarn is La Jolla by Baah Yarn.  Lovely colorways.

I got on a hat kick during the holidays.  I made this for my grandson Liam.

His PopPop liked it so much he requested one too.  I need to take a picture of the two of them in their matching train hats.








 I will probably have the pattern up on Ravelry soon.

Fiber Closet knit group X-mas party.

I run everything by my local knit group & if they
seem interested, I deem it worthy to go ahead
 with the pattern.











I am feeling the pull from my knitting nest by the window so I will close for today with a picture of my

" view from the knit nest".

Peaceful Sunday to all!!

A New Year....A Renewed Focus

Welcome 2013.

This past year has been full of wonderful family & fiber events.  I fully expect 2013 to be just as awesome.

The last few months of 2012 were so very busy for me.  We had graduations, trips and some minor family emergencies that just seemed to keep me on the run and away from the studio.

A bright spot in the day

However it is now the "dead" of winter.  I wonder where that phrase comes from?  Anyway, Jan & Feb are usually the time period that I hunker down here on the farm.  I love to work near the window and watch the winter rains, snows, winds and wildlife.    








Living in central Illiana you are never sure what you will see outside!

Cat won the race.  (late summer)

There may be snow, wind & near white out conditions for a day or two

Ambush in the planning stages

Beauty in a gray day.

followed by near 60 degrees, balmy breezes, which in turn usually bring a thunderstorm with heavy rains.

Taken in the early fall

This makes it a lovely time for me to get in some designing, work on projects for the spring fiber festivals and recharge my batteries after the frenzy of holiday gatherings.

I hope you have all had the best possible end to 2012 and may you start 2013............

Refreshed

Revived

Recharged

                                     and most of all............ filled with renewed inspiration for life!  

Deadlines!

When I am on such a tight deadline....why oh why do I always suddenly find myself enthused about all the wrong things.  Instead of finishing the weaving projects I have going, the photos I need to get done for the patterns, the yarns that need dyed for the kits, etc.  I find myself suddenly obsessed with..........sock knitting machines.  I know, how strange is that?  Luckily I am not buying any just watching lots of YouTube videos and such.

I have got a bit done.  I finally blocked the Baah Shawl.  It is a really fun pattern by Michelle Miller of FickleKnitter fame.  I love her one-skein shawls.  I used Baah Yarn, La Jolla in Chocolate Latte.  It turned out great.  Here are a couple of pictures.  Better pictures will be posted ( probably on Ravelry ) when it's not rainy & dreary outside.

Love blocking wires!

Blocking works magic on lace shawls!

I spent a good 30 minutes searching for my blocking wires.  When I finally decided to just forget it & pin the crap out of it, I grabbed my Block n Roll Mat and imagine my surprise when the tube of blocking wires fell out of the center of the roll.
It's a great place to store the wires as long as you can
remember that you put them there.

In the midst of my push to get things ready for the Covered Bridge Festival....I decided I absolutely must practice my spinning.  So out came the wheel, which needed cleaned & oiled just so I could decide....  "No, I do not have time for this".

But it does look lovely now.

I have a scarf on the loom that I am determined to finish today.  The yarn to the side is the next one up. I am so in love with these scarves.  They are so soft and luxurious with subtle stripes provided by the Noro yarn. I wish the lighting in here could show you  how beautiful the colors are.



Well, time is flying by so check back soon to see what else I have accomplished in my deadline crafting.

And don't forget to visit me at the Bridge Fest!