I did it. No problem.

So to anyone who doubted I could pull it off? Thpppt!

Here’s my pretty Calorimetry.

And hey, I threw in some crow’s feet “wisdom lines” for you to see too! I worked extra hard on those. I used the Manos del Uruguay in color #118. I cast on 100 sts on US #8’s. I did about 10 less short rows and it’s still too big. I can’t imagine what it would have been like if I actually followed the pattern! I’m going to make another one with only 80 stitches and even fewer short rows. I’m just going to do the short rows until I get it about half of what I want the total width to be. I think it will only be about 5-6 short rows. I’ll let you know how it comes out. I’m going to make one for Supergirl too. Here are a few other pictures. Luckily, I found this button in my button stash and it matches perfectly.

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When I started getting the yarn ready to dye on Sunday I thought, “Heck, two Ribby Pulli orders will be a piece of cake!” I didn’t realize that it ended up being almost 4 pounds of yarn to dye. Yes. You read that correctly. Pounds. Needless to say it took a loooooong time. But I got my first two sweater orders done and they are really pretty. I think my customers will be happy. The first one wanted purple and black on the bottom and Million Dollar Baby on the top. Y’all know how much I love purple so this was extra fun to dye. I can’t wait to see them both made into the sweater. This is also the Louet Gems and goodness is it amazing. I am totally in love with this yarn. It’s overcast so the colors are not spot on. If you click them you can see them up close and see the colors better.

The second order was for the Double Door (what Bonne Marie named the Blue & Black colorway) for the bottom like in the original sweater and Hot Fudge Sundae for the top.

Just a little note for anyone dyeing garments with hand dyed yarn; remember to alternate the skeins as you knit. Because every skein of hand-dyed yarn will be a little bit different it keeps the transition between skeins more gradual. I know it makes it kind of a pain to have two balls of yarn out while you’re knitting but trust me, it will look better.

And one last yarn pr0n picture. I decided not to use the Calorimetry yarn I dyed for my Calorimtery. (Say that 5 times fast) I thought the yarn I dyed was more of a worsted weight and it’s not. Since we’re supposed to get yet ANOTHER storm, I won’t be able to dye for a few days. Instead? I grabbed a skein of this. It just jumped off the shelf at Village Wools into my hands. Manos del Uruguay #118. I don’t know what it is about Manos that I love so much but I just do. Aren’t you proud of me for not buying the purple colorway? I almost did……My plan is to have Calorimetry done before I go to sleep tonight. Oh stop laughing you! The only thing that will keep me from finishing it is if my wrist bothers me. I had another weird thing biopsied yesterday and it’s on my right wrist in a place that needs to bend for knitting. So we’ll see I guess.

Finally, the shop is updated with a ton of stuff. Just go check it all out. I was out of a bunch of the Chibis and they are now all stocked again. The bags are stocked too. I should be getting in more Martini Blockers in the medium size in a few days. And oh!! Thanks to Adam, the gallery is updated with seven new colorways. They have all been shown here on my blog before, but they are now official colorways in the shop. Check them out.

I’m off to knit. Peace out!

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As I got Superboy ready for school this morning, I grabbed his backpack and saw he still had his library books in it from Friday. A big, “Awwwww!” came out of my mouth when I saw the books he chose. Now remember, this kid is eight years old.

How awesome is that? Out of any books in the library, my kid brings home the crafty ones. Oh how I love that kid. I don’t know many eight year olds, let alone eight year old boys who would check out craft books from the library. I’ll have to let you know if there are some cool projects in either of them.

Right in line with things that make me proud, have you seen the amazing posts by Norma and Gale about their day on Friday? Grab a tissue and go read this post and then go here and read Gale’s post and see her pictures. This one below is my favorite. When I look at Castava (one of the OFA students) with her head on Norma’s shoulder it brings tears to my eyes . It makes me miss my mom. Norma and Gale? Thank you both for working so tirelessly on this project. Seriously. This picture alone will stay with me forever. As long as the Red Scarf Project goes on, I promise to knit a scarf every year for it. You have my word. To each and every one of you who knit a Red Scarf? Be proud. Look what we’ve all done.

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Kinda. Who cares that I have my degree in English and my Master’s Degree in Education? Teaching a dye class is still teaching right? This week I’m skipping Eye Candy Friday & Saturday Sky because I’m too damn busy. I taught a three hour class today, came home to eat lunch and am now going out back to dye. Instead, I give you some pictures the class I taught today. This time I made the class 5 hours (over two days) and it was much better than the previous 4 hour class. And we had our own amazing dye room to boot! This is my 3rd class I’ve taught and my first in this room and man, did it make a difference to have this space and the extra time. It went so smoothly and we finished right on time. They each left today with a self-striping skein and variegated skein. I’m so proud of all of them. They really did such a fantastic job. Click on the picture to see the rest of the pictures.

I’m teaching another class next month that is already half full. (There’s another one in April too) I’m looking forward to using the dye room again with a new batch of students. I can’t tell you how amazing it is to have stainless steel sink with THREE sinks in it. It’s like heaven for a dyer. And you see the purple floor don’t you?

Yarn is calling me…..

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I got the best Knit Mitt Kit. Mona totally outdid herself and made me an Amy Butler Bag from In Stitches. She stuffed it with a million cool things AND, gave me the new Last-Minute Fabric Gifts which is such a great book. Oh did I mention that she happens to be a good friend of mine and lives here in Abq? I swear Swap-Bot is 100% random in its selection process and out of almost 200 people she got me. Who’s the luckiest girl? Moi. Check this swag out. Click to see all of the goodies better.

You can see a few other pictures on Mona’s blog and more on my Flickr. I’m seriously in love with this bag. She did an amazing job and in true Mona fashion she said, “You had better like it because it TOOK ME FOREVER TO MAKE!!!” She cracks me up. Of course I love it. It’s spectacular. Thank you again. See everyone? I told you. I win. Not that I’m competitive like that or anything…..

If you have yet to mail yours our, please do. Bev and I don’t want to have to track flakers down! If you have contacted us and/or your pal that’s cool. Thanks for playing. It was another really fun swap. I have something else I’m working on with clothesknit and will let you know when and if we can figure out how to make it work. Oh the suspense!!! It’s good for you.

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Metacognition refers to thinking about cognition (memory, perception, calculation, association, etc.) itself or to thinking/reasoning about one’s own thinking.

As a teacher I’ve always been fascinated with the learning process. When you understand your strengths and weaknesses as a thinker/learner, you are able to be that much more successful. I am also continuously impressed by other people’s brilliance. For example, when I see a new knitting pattern my first thought is “How did their brains come UP with that?” I want to know the process. I want to know where it came from. I mean, have you seen the new Interweave Knits Spring preview? The first thing I do is see what Kate has done. I then look to see who else has their patterns in there that I know. I was excited to see Stefanie’s pattern in there too and it’s beautiful. I immediately emailed them both to congratulate them before going back to spend more time looking at the teeny little pictures of their projects.

(pictures are printed with permission from IK)

The top sweater is Kate’s and it’s called Slanted Neck Pullover. The middle sweater is Stefanie’s called Cable-Down Raglan. And then there is the Keyhole Top. How freaking gorgeous is that? I told Kate while chatting with her last night that I didn’t know if I could wear it but I absolutely thought it was one of the prettiest knitted items I’ve ever seen. She’s so humble and calm as I’m totally freaking out over her brilliance. I was literally yelling at her “YOU ARE TOTALLY BRILLIANT! DO YOU KNOW THAT?!?” But then again, everyone knows what a total dork I am. I can’t help but tell people when I think they rock. I want to just climb into her head for a little bit to see how things work. I just look at that Keyhole Top and can’t believe she pulled something like that out of her brain while at home with a toddler running around her on 4-5 hours of sleep a night. She’s a genius I tell you. Stefanie too. I can’t wait to see these in the magazine because they are simply amazing. Girls? I’m really proud of you.

You know what else I love? When people design things that are useful and cute. I know everyone and their mother is making Calorimetry so add me to the list now too. I’ve loved it since Winter Knitty came out but haven’t had the time to make it. I’m actually glad because I know now to cast on fewer stitches and take a few rows out after reading everyone’s experience with it. We have a heat wave going on here in New Mexico as the temps got into the 40’s yesterday and I was able to dye outside. I decided to dye my own yarn for my Calorimetry. At least this way I get exactly what I want right? I love it.

Click to see the bigger version where you can see the colors a bit better. There are two shades of purple, silver grey and black. I’m really going outside of my comfort zone on these colors aren’t I? I know! So adventurous! Oh stop. I can’t help it. I love purple and black. Everyone has said it’s a quick knit so I’m holding y’all to it. This is not an exclusive colorway if you want it. Should I just call it Calorimetry?

Caro’s on Uncommon Threads right now! Go Caro!!

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I got my copy of Southern Living yesterday. It’s so cool to see my yarn there! (Click to see the article better.) It’s about Christy who started the Hurricaine Sock Party last year and had me custom dye four colorways for it. Run Like Hell, Damn Debris, Blue Roof aka Bluetini & Storm Surge.

I don’t get why they didn’t mention scoutsswag.com. So weird. I mean, they mention all of the colorway names we came up with AND show two of them…..oh well. Somehow people will ask her where she got the yarn and they’ll find me if they really want it right? Also, this is only in the magazines that carry the Florida section if you’re looking for it. Anyway, it’s pretty cool even if they didn’t mention me by name.

***Edited to add that Christy is a good friend of mine and she gave Southern Living all of the information for me and my website, so it’s not her fault at all. I just want to make sure everyone knows it was their fault and not hers!**

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But it’s better than flowers to 35 Indie Swag Members!

These should go out tomorrow. I went to the PO today and even Pippi can be witness to the fact that I got there and picked numer 82 and they were only on 32! (we were on the phone) WTH? So I need to go back and get stamps and then they are ready to go. Next month I’m ordering the stamps online. I can’t stand waiting in line at the PO. But hooray! Month four is done! Carole saw it today as I was packaging it up and can attest to the fact that it’s really pretty. For those asking about the next club? I will make an announcement soon about that…..
Now I can tackle my custom orders. I can’t wait to catch up on that list and get all of the Ribby Pulli orders going too. I think I have about five sweaters to dye on my board right now. I’m excited to dive into all of that Louet.

Can someone please send back our warm weather? This weather is getting old. Seriously.

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Inspired by so many of you who commented the other day who are in the club with me, I started a blog called The Dead Moms Club - The Club You Don’t Want to Join…. If you’re in the club? Come join us. Carole and Not an Artist are going to run it with me too. We can support one another in our motherless lives. I know to some, the blog name may seem harsh, but why not tell it like it is? There’s no nice way to put it. My mother is dead. Plain and simple. I urge someone else to start a Dead Dad’s Club Blog. The more of us that band together and support one another, the stronger we become. Will you pass the word around please? If you know someone who might need a place like this, send them over.

I promise the next post will be happy and cheery and filled with fresh smelling flowers! Or maybe I just won’t talk about death. How about that? Okay, deal. I’m off to wind and label Indie Swag.

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Saturday Sky

I am soooooo tired of this weather!!!!! I’m off to teach my dye class. I wanted to thank each and every one of you for your words yesterday regarding the Dead Mom/Dad Club. Carole is right. We should start a blog? I normally try and reply to my comments but am just completely swamped with everything. So thank you. All of you.

Now stop this frick-fracking snow okay?

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