because I got a new toy. It can do things like this.

The camera I’ve used for the past two years was a hand-me-down from my mother-in-law. I think it’s about 5 years old. It’s done a pretty good job but I simply felt like I had finally outgrown it. A friend of mine who knows a lot about cameras helped me pick out my new camera this weekend. I got the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi. And holy crap. I’m in love. It even makes cute noises when it takes pictures. However, I have so much to learn it’s not even funny. I think the manual weighs 10lbs. I mean look at what it can do.

Perplexed Superkids
Now that the Indie Swag is out the door I can catch up on all other yarn orders. I will be dyeing all day tomorrow which should get me closer to that goal. Just knowing I can take amazing pictures of they yarn once it’s dry is such motivation. Plus T. unexpectedly has the day off which will really help. I’ll leave you with one more. Supergirl learned a new trick yesterday.

Can you tell how much fun I’m having?

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First of all I bring you some images from the brand new school the boy goes to. Next year Supergirl will go as well and let me tell you, I’m totally jealous. I want to be a kid again to be able to go to this school. It’s the most beautiful school I’ve ever seen. Carole can vouch for me. It’s amazing. Next year when both kids are there I will feel les stalkerish and take some more shots. Here are a few from the other day. And yes people. The sky is really that blue. Click to see the better shot.

The biggest picture is what you see at the front entrance as you look up to the right. The bottom right picture is also by the front door. There are these huge concrete balls by the front door that represent the planets and I found out yesterday that this blue one is the earth. You should see the playground! There is a huge one for the big kids and a completely separate one for the kindy kids on a patio/porch type area overlooking the bigger playground. Did I mention the views? The school is located directly west of the Sandia Mountains and south of reservation land where buffaloes live. See? Jealous. Major eye candy my friends.

Let me explain about the redo on the poll I posted yesterday. I would greatly appreciate it if you would vote again. Right now the *as is* is ahead 57% to 43% with almost 300 votes. Since there were so many people who said they really didn’t care which way the skein came to them, I want to redo the poll with the third option. This poll is being looked at by a number of other dyers too so we really want to know what you all want. We have been really surprised by how many of you actually like the *as is* skein!

Let’s Try This Again!
	Leave it AS IS. For sure!
	Rekein it baby! Absolutely!
	Either Way. Seriously. Less work for T.!
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Thank you for taking this again. I also though it was so funny how many of you like the completely altered colorway too. I’ll give you a hint, the tissue paper under the yarn is actually a pale green! That’s how different the yarn really is. I’ll show it as soon as most Indie Swag members have seen it. Have a great weekend everyone. My goal is to catch up on the yarn orders so I can start taking them again next week.

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Ever since I started dyeing and selling my yarn I’ve always reskeined them. Always. I’ve done it for a number of reasons even though it’s extremely time consuming. (Or I should say that T. does it.) I also assumed that the majority of people like seeing the yarn better that way as you are able to really see how the yarn will look when knitted. In the past few weeks I’ve asked a few people which way they prefer their hand-painted yarn and I’ll admit that I’ve been surprised. Margene told me the other day that she actually likes the *as is* version better. Yesterday when Mona was here helping me get the Indie Swag out (yes you heard that right) she absolutely preferred the *as is* version much better than the reskeined one. So did John and a few other people when I showed them the difference between the two. This led me to mail out half of the Indie Swag reskeined and the other half in the *as is* state as a little test. I did this because I would really like to see what everyone thinks. For the purposes of this poll, the Indie Swag yarn has been completely altered to conceal its true colors. I must protect the innocent until all 40 of these arrive in their new homes. Next week I can show you what this really looks like. I think it’s one of my favorite colorways to date. Seriously. So check out what I’m talking about.

You can see the top skein is twisted straight into a skein and the bottom one has been reskeined to offset the colors. I would like as much imput on this as possible. Please explain in the comments why you like the one you like. I don’t know if I’ll really change how I do things, but I aim to please and want to know how the majority feels so maybe I should? Who knows. Let’s see what you guys think. I’m dyeing to know. Haaa! Hey Norma! pretty punny!

To Reskein or Not?
	Leave it AS IS. For sure!
	Reskein it baby! Absolutely!
Free polls from Pollhost.com

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I wanted to also leave a few links for you all to check out if you have a minute. Please go read Pippi’s post from yesterday. There is this one from Gretchen. And finally, my girl Carole. We all know that every little bit helps when it comes to fund-raising. Thank you very much if you take the time to go read these links and an extra special thank you if you donate.

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At least the clouds help make pretty pictures.

This was taken at 7:00am this morning. T.’s off at a bike race and I think I need a breakfast burrito before the soccer games start. Maybe the burrito will offset the fact that both of my children were completely awake before 6:00am? Seriously.

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I’m definitely digging this pattern and was able to knock out quite a bit during Supergirl’s gymnastics yesterday. It’s nice to have such a portable project that’s easy to pick up whenever I have a minute to work on it. I think my favorite part is how the tencel rows are shiny and stand out from the rows of the more solid STR. Yep. Definitely liking how this is looking so far. I also really like my new medium size GoKnit Pouch. It’s a perfect size for a project like this.

I updated the shop with a few new things yesterday and still have some Pippi roving left. I think there are four Springtime Choco Birds left. (not for long!) She sent me some unbelievable colors this time. Thanks Pippi! I also have a whole shipment of GoKnit Pouches and sock blockers on their way here and should arrive by early next week. I think I forgot to let you know that I’m completely restocked with Designs by Romi shwal/scarf pins including the Exclusive Martini Pin. I have three Martini Pins in stock. This was a pin that Romi and I designed together and I only sold a few of them last year. I also marked down all of the Modern Yarn t-shirts. They will be 30% off until they are all gone. I’m sure I’m forgetting to tell you about something, so just cruise around the shop to see what else is there. I’m working on getting some new swag and can’t wait to tell you about them.

Another busy weekend is in store for my family. Two soccer games tomorrow, a running race for the kids on Sunday morning and then my soccer game in the afternoon. The ankle seems to be doing better. I walked on Wednesday and was able to get a little jog in yesterday. It’s no where near 100% but definitely better than it was on Monday. I need to be able to play on Sunday since three other women won’t be there. They need me! I’m going to try my hardest to not get pummled. We’ll see. Have a great weekend everyone.

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I’m still working on the Cabo Hoodie for Supergirl but I also felt the need to start something new, easy and portable. I was on the phone with Carole when these two pretty girls called to me. They said I needed to jump into the Chevron Scarf Pool. Who could deny them of this wish? The top yarn is STR - Azurite and the bottom one is my own Strawberry Quick in tencel. I think they’ll look pretty damn gorgeous together.

In other news, my ankle is not cooperating. I am being a good patient and not going for a run today. Instead, it’s beautiful and Carole and I are going to walk the Academy and do a few errands. We rarely get time to just hang out together, sans kids, so I’m really looking forward to some girl time. Plus, it’s absolutely beautiful outside today.

I’m also really excited about a new project John and I are working on together. You’ll have to be very patient as we won’t be able to really talk about it for another month or so. Trust me, it’s way cool. You can have a little sneak peek on his blog today. He’s my new partner in crime so watch out.

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Did you know that it’s really hard to run a business out of your home when you are stuck on the floor with your foot up on a chair with ice on it? Yeah. Doesn’t really work. I got wrecked in my soccer game yesterday. Another girl completely took me out and I flipped over her and did all kinds of really fun things to my body. Even the Ref. said he wanted to see that again in instant replay on the news. Thanks guy. It’s like a car accident where you feel all of the bruises the following day. I’m so hurting today. Luckily, I always tape my ankles because I’ve injured them so many times in the past from soccer I know better than messing with fate. My left ankle would probably be a lot worse if it hadn’t been taped. My official diagnosis, per T. the Physical Therapist, is that I “strained my peroneal tendon, just posterior to the lateral malleolus.” Doesn’t that sound exotic? Try saying it five times fast. Sorry, I deal with everything through humor. Isn’t laughter the best medicine? Let’s hope so.

Needless to say, the combination of the ankle and being swamped after the show has left me having to stop taking yarn orders for the next week or two. I hate to have to do this but in order for me to keep my sanity, I have to be able to catch up and get everything organized before I take any more orders. I’m just glad I was able to get a bunch of work done this weekend before getting hurt. See?

I limped around all morning getting all of this out the door. I was then a very good patient and iced the ankle. Do you know how hard it is for me to sit still for 30 minutes? I don’t do sick OR hurt well at all. This had better feel better soon. I need to be able to exercise or I turn into one cranky girl. I guess I had better go elevate the foot. At least I have wireless so I can drag my computer around with me. Maybe I’m just getting too old for soccer….

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First up is a brand new pattern from my knitstar friend John/Yarn Ball Boogie. He is going to be on Knitty Gritty today at 2:00pm so watch him, ya hear? Check out this Eye Candy.

I think rates right up there as one of the top, coolest sock patterns I’ve seen. It’s called Seize Diamondbacks. He just released it for sale today. I’ve been working with him all week on designing his new website and we finally got it all set and ready to go this morning. As always, Cynthia pulled through and helped me surprise him with a new banner and it just rocks in all kinds of ways. Go say hey to him and check out the pattern too. I think a lot of hand-painted yarns get lost in sock patterns but this one shows off the yarn so well. Love it!! Didn’t the photographer, Gregory, take such great shots too?
And then there is this beauty. I did a trade with Romi for my very own Bauble. I just can’t get over how beautiful it is. That girl has some mad skillz. Seriously. I’m such a lucky girl. She got that skein of Zephyr wool-silk laceweight in the Puesta del Sol colorway that was posted yesterday and a GoKnit pouch as our trade.

That’s it for now my friends. It’s pouring here and Carole is coming over soon with some coffee so we can watch my show and then John’s! I think it’s the perfect way to spend a rainy day. Have a great weekend everyone. I have my dye class in the morning. It’s a great group and I’m excited to see what colorways they create.

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These are just a few of the skeins going out today. It seems like everyone is wanting Project Spectrum colors these days. I just added four new colorways to the gallery. Make sure and check them out. The Hunker Down was for Christy for the Hurricane Sock Party 2007. I’ve been doing a lot of gradation dyeing lately so she gave me the freedom to do whatever I wanted with this one. I love it. It’s purple! How could I not? The Joseph’s Coat colorway was inspired by this rose as a custom order for Paula. I liked it enough to make it a regular. I also put up the Turquoise Snowbunny since there were so many requests for it as well as one final colorway that is a secret. I’ll talk about it once I’m allowed to. For now I’ll just call it secret.

Just a heads up to anyone wanting yarn from me. I’m super busy since the show and have about a 2-4 week wait on all yarn orders. Until I am able to catch up with orders and get the Indie Swag Club dyed, I have to give myself that much time for every order. Sometimes I might be able to get to it faster, but for now, that’s what I’m saying and I’m sticking to it!

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It was touch and go for a while there……just kidding. I only felt like throwing up for the first 25 minutes of the show and once the crazy shaking and adrenaline wore off I was able to actually watch the last 5 minutes of the show without feeling sick. It’s just weird to see yourself on TV. Even Vickie told me last night she felt sick watching herself for the first 20 or so shows. At least my Master’s in Education and seven years of teaching paid off. I kind of sounded like I knew what I was talking about! Anyway, I’m glad it’s over. I appreciate all of the words of encouragement yesterday. It made me feel a lot better. Even Vickie gave me props on her blog. Thank YOU!

I have had a number of emails about where to find Scout’s Ghetto Warping Board instructions as DIY didn’t get it up on the website yet. I made a new page for it here with the warping instructions at the bottom. People have also been asking for the pattern of the head wrap I was wearing seen below.

This is a free pattern from the talented Wendy of Knit & Tonic. It’s called the Dream Scarf Head Wrap and you can find the pdf file here. I would like to publically thank the knitters again who helped me with all of the swag for the show. Molly knit the headwrap and Cookie knit two of the socks seen on the show. I actually made the one with the stripes from the warping board. There are many others who knit for the show so a big thank you again to all of you. There is no way I would have been able to do it all myself.

I got some screen shots from the show to share that are up in my Knitty Gritty Flickr Set. Here are just a few of my favorites. If you’ve seen the show already, you can just ignore the rest of the post. Hey look! I’m on the Knitty Cam! No mangled cuticles!

And yes folks, I not only showed how to dye yarn and reskein it, I also did a bit of knitting too. I don’t recall Vickie referring to the belt buckle as a bit of *razzle dazzle* but again, I don’t remember saying “handy dandy” either. I think an alien replaced me for a few minutes because I don’t think I’ve ever said that before in my entire 37 years on this planet. Here’s Vickie showing off the razzle dazzle.

And these two pictures are from my favorite part of the show. They really wanted me to show you how to put the yarn into a skein with my foot but I was worried that might scare some people off so I told her to just give me her finger. Ha! We thought this was so funny. Hey, it was late. It didn’t take much.

See to me, reskeining yarn is the most tedious part of this job. T. ends up doing most of it for me. So the fact that they wanted me to show how to do all of that on my show completely cracked me up. But the director thought it was the coolest thing. When I was practicing the day before the shoot, the awesome art director Dave, asked the director to come out and check out the swift and skein winder and wondered if we could show it on my show. When he saw how it reskeined the yarn he exclaimed, “I’ve always wanted to know how that worked!” And in the show it went. I guess I forget a lot of people have never seen how that all works so it was actually a good idea to put it in. But it still makes me giggle watching Vickie winding that skein winder. Finally, here I am on the couch with my Knitsters. When I was sitting there I couldn’t believe it was about to be all over. The actual taping went so quickly. The total time was about 2.5 hours but it flew by.

And that’s it folks. I’m thinking it might re-air in a few weeks. The one that aired last Monday has a re-air date 16 days later. I’ll let you know if I hear anything. Time to get to the emails. I have been gone most of the day and I need to play catch-up. Ot take a nap? Thursday is Shobhana! Friday is John! YAY! I can’t wait to see their shows.

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