I Love My Job!

Have I told you the news???? I'm now working at the Yarn and Fiber Company in Windham, NH. And, you know what? I LOOOOOOOVVVVE it!!!

Cyndi...the fabulous and "boss from heaven" Cyndi...helped me learn the cash register and credit card machine on Wednesday (the last time I used one, I was 18 and working in a gun store) and showed me all around the shop. (The mock shopping spree she did so I could try out the routine was very funny.....)

The shop, of course, is fantastic...with all my favorite yarns and patterns. It's just the right combination of faint music, the smell of yarn and fiber, big table with comfy chairs and....best of all...the friendliest people. Truly. They go out of their way to help you with anything and answer any questions you have.

Nancy, one of my coworkers on Saturday, has been super helpful...showing me how to stock online orders and been very supportive and wonderful. Hannah is a sweetheart and, please don't let her pretty and youthful face fool you...she knows yarn, patterns and knitting...so make sure you don't overlook her when she says, "Do you need help with something?" She is my lifesaving angel on Saturdays when I make a mistake on the cash register, have no idea where something is or have an avalanche of Rowan Kidsilk Haze drop on top of me for the fifth time. (I swear, that stuff is possessed!) I've only met a couple of other people who work there....Jerry (Cyndi's fiance) is hilarious and a whiz at the sock knitting machine I'm sure everyone else will be great, too.

On my first night, I hosted the very first "Yarn and Fiber Co. Knitting Group" and it was a great success. What a fun night....we, of course, knit...fondled the yarn, had dinner, fondled more, knit more and laughed and talked. I was blessed by the arrival of the Manchvegas Knitters....or more specifically....Lovely Laurin, Sexy Jackie, Hot Heather, Blogless Koigu Donna and Super Hands Sarah...(massage therapist, people!) Wanna see?

(L-R: Donna, Heather, Jackie, Sarah's forehead and Laurin)


(Laurin, I know you are going to kill me for showing the pic, but I just had to because it was so funny....and also 'cause you shared that narsty pic of me on your blog...even? LOL!)

And, I learned on Saturday that Donna (Chris' Mom, not Koigu Donna) tried to come to the shop, but went to the wrong place...so technically, she was there, too. Thanks, everyone, for being so supportive and hanging out with me on my first day!

I can't tell you how lucky I feel for having a job that I love with awesome people and one that is not too far from home. If you are ever in the area on a Friday night or Saturday, please come visit me! (oh, and buy stuff....)

On the knitting front, I haven't worked on the Sahara since last week, but will be working on it all this week. I've designed a new pattern, which I will be showing in the next blog and posting on Ravelry as well. I think you're going to like it. I hope!

On the spinning front, I am finishing up plying with my green Holly EQQ fiber (came out soo nice!) and am going to start my Sereknity batt...Smouldering Embers. Pics on the next post probably.

On the podcast front, I am finally, finally going to get the podcast out, so if you have unsubscribed or whatever, make sure to resubscribe to my podcast on iTunes. It seems to work better if you unsubscribe and then resubscribe every 6 months or something. Not sure why. It's only been, what, y-e-a-r-s?????

And a belated Happy Birthday to GiGi!!! Here's the cupcake I knit for her...what a fun project...



I will leave you with a pic of Ben wearing his new Ben10 costume for Halloween...he's been wearing it almost every single day for a week. Hopefully, it will still be in existence by Oct. 31st.



P.S. Don't forget to visit the Yarn and Fiber Company website!!! Happy Knitting! Did I tell you that I love my new job??

Absolutely NO willpower....

No, I'm not talking about dieting (which, of course, I have no willpower for either...or I wouldn't be dieting constantly)...I'm talking about the Lizard Ridge afghan.

After seeing (and feeling) a swatch of the afghan at Yarn and Fiber on Sunday, I just couldn't wait any longer.

I've been trying my VERY BEST to put off starting this....I was trying to finish at least two or three of the current projects I'm working on, but....alas, it wasn't meant to be.

So far, I've completed one of the 24 "squares". I'm using colors 40 and 183 right now...of the Noro Kureyon. The designer has written the pattern so that you make 24 of these "squares" and then sew them all together. You'd have to sew 6 of them end to end to make one long panel and then sew the 4 long panels together to make the afghan. I'm going to save myself a WHOLE lot of sewing and just continue on through the squares (without binding off and casting on again) so that I make one long, continuous panel. Then, make 3 more. I'll only have to sew up the 2 long center side panels that way. (and I'll save some yarn, too)

I'm LOVING the pattern, too. The first time you go through the 12 row pattern, it's confusing (or at least it was for me). I also didn't realize that the pattern was written so that the bubbly parts are SMOOTH at the edges and not ridged, like the one I saw at the yarn store. I had the hardest time figuring out how to make the sections BUMPY...until I had a sudden "DUH" moment...instead of doing the 5 transititon rows in stockinette, you just do it in GARTER! DUH!

So, I've decided to work a little on it here and there so I can start using it once the cooler weather comes in October/November. I figure, if I can make one part of the 24 in less than one day, then it will only take me a month or less (have to figure in sewing the panels and doing the crocheted border) to make the whole thing. So, I have PLENTY of time, right?? Right?

I also have a picture of ONE of the finished handspun skeins of yarn I made from the Coopworth fleece that I washed, combed, etc. I only used 1/4 of the finished fiber and I got 75 yards of 3 ply worsted weight yarn....about 12 wpi. It is MUCH softer than I thought it would be (but not like angora or cashmere...or even merino) and so "homey". Now, if I can finish spinning the rest, I have plans to make Ben a hat and mittens for next winter.



And, dum dum dum dum (drum roll please), I have the long overdue picture of the first Radiance Lace Headband pattern completed! Well, one besides the two I made!



It's Cayli of Spin A Yarn for Ewe!!!

Cayli not only knit my headband pattern (the Amanda), but also spun the yarn herself!!! And, not only that, but she used our very own Heather's handpainting roving!!! It's the Beaches colorway and in the superwash merino/tencel fiber...you can find her fiber HERE. Isn't that amazing? Like a partnership of handpainting/spinning/knitting/designing all at once. Doesn't she look fantastic in this?



And, lastly, here is the yarn I spun for lovely Donna. It's only 1/2 of the 2 oz of merino/bombyx silk fiber from Chasing Rainbows...the Moonstone colorway I spun up here is the third from the left. I got 75 yards of 3 ply sportweight from 1 oz of the fiber. It's super shiny and I hope she likes it. I'm working on her Ashland Bay purple-ish merino top right now.

Any more headbands in the works????

Fun on Thursday.....

To counteract my blog from yesterday, I have a happy blog for today.

On Thursday, Ian took the day off and we all went to the Burlington Mall in Burlington, MA. Primarily, we went to go to the Lego store and the Rainforest Cafe. The kids were SUPER excited. The last time Tim was at the Rainforest Cafe was 10 years ago when we all went to DisneyWorld.

The trip wasn't too bad...a little less than an hour and the mall (though under construction), wasn't very crowded since it was a weekday. We made a bee line for the Lego Store and it didn't disappoint us. It was SOO cool! I've loved Legos since I was a little girl and Ian saved his gi-normous lego collection from when he was a kid, so Ben and Tim have almost as many legos as the store has!

The set up of the store is interesting....on the left side, a wall of the "older" kids sets and the on the right, the Duplo sets for the little guys/gals. On the very back wall is a "pick your own" section (from ceiling to floor)....kind of like the Jelly Belly jellybeans set up....where you can pick the color and type of bricks you want in any number. A small container (about the size of a cottage cheese tub) is $6.95 and the larger ones (like a quart container that big yogurt comes in) for $12.95. I forgot to bring my camera and only had my phone, so I have no pics to show right now...though once I download the camera pics, I'll add them in.

(UPDATE: Here it is!)



Did I mention that there are at least 3 little tables with legos that kids (or adults) can build on and play with? Ben loved that!

There was also a section of non-sets of stuff you could buy: lego watches, timers, salt and pepper shakers, magnets, keychains, board games, card games and ice cube trays. I grabbed one of the ice cube trays and filled it up immediately after I got home.....look closely in my glass to see them....neat, huh?



This is a close up....



Here are the sets that we got from the Lego Store....

1. Ben got a ExoForce kit...



2. Tim got a new Bionicle creature....



3. And, yes, I got something, too...one of the Bellville "girly" sets...(yes, I regressed to age 10)



On a knitting note, Ian's grandma (the one who weaves gorgeous weaverly things) wore out the pair of slippers I made her 3 years ago and I made her another pair. If anyone is awesome enough to wear something I've knitted until it's worn out, that person is TOTALLY knit worthy. Here are the slippers from the Knit Knack Kit by Kris Perceival....a book that I like for the easy and attractive patterns, but has one tiny problem...it gives no gauge at all for any of the projects.

As you can see, I also added the crocheted flowers that Marion had made for her daughters' wedding and passed on to us (along with yummy jellybeans!)...



The slippers may look very strange and "kooky", but they are extremely comfortable, so quick to knit and fun to make. I made both in one day using Lamb's Pride bulky in Periwinkle.

Also, for a mini change to cheer myself up (the Spunky Everyday Cardi is not on the back burner...just on hold till Monday), I decided to start reading the book, The Sweater Workshop by Jacqueline Fee, also a member of the NETA group.

Donna let me buy the book from her stash (thanks, Donna!) and I can't believe how fun it is. It's not only informative and has great ideas, but it's a great read...it's like talking to a knitting friend! The first section of the book is how to make a "Sweater Sampler", which lets you make a sweater-like thing (see how intellectual I am??) while trying out all of the techniques you need when designing your own sweater.....the usual stuff like ss, garter, ribbing....but then going on to making button holes, belts, adding lace, hems, an afterthought pocket and even stitching in your initials when you're done. I'm having a blast so far and I'm only a couple techniques in.....here I am just finishing the 1x1 ribbing....



I have to show you the book itself...you know why?...it has teeny, tiny mini-skeins of Opal that Donna brought over laying on top of it. I tried to sneak one, but Donna and her hawk-like eyes caught me. Darn it! Aren't that adorable???



And, finally, I took pics of Ericka's Down to Hearth soaps. They are even better in person....I wish there was such a thing as "smellivsion" ! She generously donated them to the Sleepy Eyes Knits podcast theme song contest. Woo-hoo! Thanks, Ericka!

So, remember, send me a few lines of your song or even send me a .mp3 or such singing it. I already have an entry that is FANTASTIC!!! Deadline in week and a half...so send them in! Someone will win yarn, soap and other goodies!

P.S. Here is blogless Amanda wearing all of her recently knitting FOs.....Hat using yarn that Donna gifted her....Fetching mitts from yarn I gifted her and her beautiful rose colored shrug....sorry this pic is so dark and blurry...it was from my camera phone.



Many, many hugs and thanks to everyone who commented on my blog yesterday. I can't tell you how much it meant to me to have so many of you being so supportive and understanding. You're all WONDERFUL!!!!