I'm back and WiPs + happy gramps recipient

It is amazing how fast time flies.  I never intended to let the blog languish.  Life had other ideas.

There are big changes in progress and ahead that I'll get into at a later date.  Right now I want to tell you a little bit about what I've been up to.

First up- WiPs- Works in Progress.

Of course there are socks:

These are two at a time on one circular needle using Lane Cervinia Forever in color 72.  These babies have been my car knitting socks.  (No worries about me driving with my knees while my fingers fly-I knit at red lights or while in traffic jams.)  They also give me emergency knitting if I forget my other knitting and find myself without knitting. 

The pink rock in the photo was picked up at the Orange County Fair this summer at a rock booth.  I don't remember what type of rock it is or what it's use is supposed to be.  I choose it for a fiddling rock.  Like a fidget spinner.  It's something to hold in my hand and twirl or squeeze while I can't knit (typically during therapy sessions). 

I'm also just starting a new sweater,  not your boyfriends sweater using knit picks swish worsted in the hollyberry colorway.  I've cast on and knit one row.  I have to set it aside to work on some last minute Christmas gifts that were requested from the nieces and nephews.  Always nice to get a request for hand knits from the kids, although a bit more time than 2 weeks before Christmas would be nice.

I finished another gramps cardigan (pattern by Tin Can Knits).  This one was done in Cascade 220 superwash in blue and yellow.  My niece, Emmaline, called and asked for a "wellow sweater" earlier this year.  How can you say no to that?  Her mom nixed the idea of yellow for a sweater but agreed to a yellow contrast color.  So I picked the gramps cardigan and got busy.

In progress

I finished knitting the sweater while on a plane on my way to Thanksgiving and delivery of the sweater.  She loves it so much that she has worn it everyday since she received it.  I let Emmaline "help" sew the ends in and she helped sew the buttons on.  Her help slowed the process down however the delay was totally worth it.  Her laughter every time the yarn came out of the eye of the needle was contagious.  She now has pride of ownership and has been telling everyone about the sweater her aunt knit.  

I haven't spent a lot of time talking about planning or my planning strategies on here, but plan to do more of that in the coming year.

I'll be back Friday with some Finished Objects.  Have a great week.

Five on Friday

Happy Friday Everyone!

I love Friday's.  Who doesn't?  Fridays are the goal that I aim for to get through my week.  That's sad, I know.  But I am working on changing things; particularly my work, so that I am happier with my work week.

This week I am joining in on Amy's Love Made My Home Blog's Five on Friday.  She asks that we talk about 5 things (related or unrelated) or spend 5 minutes going into something in depth.

I'm going to tell you 5 things that have made my week better:

1. Essential Oils and Yoga-  I'm not really into either of these things.  Haven't ever really done yoga.  I do love those yoga pants though.  Comfy.  I am teaching a class on how to make cold press soap later this month at the Griffin Dye Works retreat.  And I was making a batch to use as samples and wanted to change up the EO's I used.  Really, I was looking for a anti-stress blend to use.  I decided to go with Lavender, Bergamot, Ylang Ylang and lime.  I'm also looking into roller ball tubes to take that mixture with me.  And came across a great Yoga magazine with information and poses for relieving stress and anxiety at work.  They work.

2. Movies.  I love love love going to movies.  Good movies, bad movies, any type of movie (except horror and some suspense movies.  Horror movies cause an increase in my sleep walking and suspense movies can raise my adrenaline levels too much which is bad for PTSD).  This week I went to see San Andreas.  Good movie.  Exactly the type of bad movie that is good.  Like Volcano and Dante's Peak.  Unrealistic.  Amazing.  And filled with eye candy (hello the ROCK!)  Turns out that this was not a good movie for me (adrenaline raising.  But I still loved it.)  Up next- the Spy.  Starring one of my all time favorite comedic actresses-Melissa McCarthy.

3. Water and Ibuprofen.  I have a long standing addiction to Coke.  Coca-Cola to be precise.  I know it's a bad habit and this week I am tackling it.  I have gone down to one a day (I've tried cold turkey before and looked and felt like a heroin addict going through withdrawal-it was NOT pretty).  To that end I have been downing water like a traveler just rescued from weeks in the desert and taking ibuprofen.  I'm not over doing it.  Just one dose a day.  And using some EO's Bessie found that release tension in the neck (I may be stealing that roller from her).  I have high hopes that I can be free of this addiction soon.  But make no promises that there will be no relapsing.

4. Knitting.  Of course.  Knitting saves me.  Daily.  Sometimes hourly.  If I am stressed, just thinking about knitting can help bring me back down to reality and off the ledge.  I love knitting.  It is my one true love.  I spin, I crochet, I sew, I do other crafts and I like them.  But I love knitting.  My local knitting group met last night and had a lot of fun.  There was a lot of swearing and misbehaving projects.  (we keep the swearing to a minimum if children are near by).

5. Friday.  Just knowing that Friday is coming can make my week better.  Although this week I've thought it was Thursday all week and every time I realized it wasn't Thursday I was sad.  But Friday is here.  It's the middle of the afternoon, the office is emptying out as people high tail it home or somewhere not here.  And this weekend is my Birthday so I get to do some celebrating.  And will be taking my first ever trip to Sea World.  I wanted to do something fun and new and that fit the bill.

I hope you have a wonderful Friday and an even better Weekend.

Check out the other Five on Friday posts at five-on-Friday.

WiPs Wednesday

It's finally Wednesday.  It's felt like Thursday everyday this week.  And when I realized that, for example, it was Monday I was sad.

Slowly but surely we're making it to the end of the week.  There's no particular reason I'm wanting the week to be over; just the usual reasons.  Although (don't tell anyone) my birthday is this weekend.

I know it's been a long time since I've written.  I haven't felt like blogging.  I've finished a few projects, but don't have photos to show you today.  Maybe I'll get them together for Friday, maybe not.

I've got a couple of things on the needles right now.  And a few more in the works.

First up- the Ditto sweater.  It's knit bottom up in one piece.

I've got about 8 inches of the stockinette done (not pictured).  It's flying off the needles.  

And I've been working on a design for a cowl.  Here's the prototype-It's blurry and lace so not blocked.

I've been spending a lot of time in Santa Barbara at the Courthouse (a really complicated case that didn't need to be complicated; which meant a ton of my time wasted getting it sorted out).

The Courthouse is really pretty.  Here's the entrance.

Have a great week.

Five for Friday

Happy Friday!  TGIF!  I love Love LOVE Fridays!

Today I am going with Five on Fridays instead of Finished Objects Friday.  I have finished objects-however the aren't blocked or photographed.  So maybe you'll see them next week.

Five on Fridays is a post whereby you discuss 5 things that happened this week.

1.  Easter Socks are finally finally done.  I started these socks out of Cascade sock yarn and quickly came to not love the colors.

The socks are going to be a store sample to go with the cascade yarns so people can see an idea of the fabric and design the yarn creates.  I decided to knit them in the length for Bessie's feet, but that quickly went back to mine because I knit the cuff too small for her.  So they will eventually be mine.  Or maybe stay a forever store sample.

2. Kickstarter.  Our kickstarter ended and we didn't meet our goal.  We want to thank everyone who contributed and supported us.  Whether through contributing or by sharing and showing support other ways.  We are still opening our store and will keep you updated as we go forward.

3.  TeeSpring.  A lot of people loved our creative Tee Shirts so we've found a way to make them available to you now.  Purchasing shirts will still support us and you get an awesome shirt.  The Tee Spring company handles the payment, printing and shipping of all shirts.

Check them out through our Facebook page or through the Tee Spring website (you have to search Fiberlicious in the search bar to find them).  I think it is easier to find them by clicking the link on facebook-but use whatever method floats your boat.

4. Continuing Legal Education.  Otherwise known as CLE's.  I attended a really interesting one yesterday where the speaker was Hannah Smith of the Beckett Fund.  Link to profile here.  She spoke on Religious Liberty; specifically the Hobby Lobby case which dealt with whether a citizen loses their religious freedom when they open a business.  The Supreme Court ruled on the case under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (a bi-partisan act passed (Unanimous in the House and 90 something to 6 in the senate) in 1992 and signed into law by President Clinton).  Citation for the case is: Burwell v. Hobby Lobby 134 S. Ct. 2751 (June 30, 2014).   The discussion was really interesting.   Mrs. Smith discussed the media coverage of the case and touched on the non-profit organizations suing about the same HHS Mandate and the current progress of that case.  The Hobby Lobby case was one of over 40 cases consolidated for the Supreme Court case.

5.  This weeks Knitting/ Spinning.  First up knitting:  Spearmint Tee Shawl.  I just started this on Tuesday. It's a fast knit.  I'm loving it so far.  Really loving it.

The yarn is dragonfly yarns in the pixie base and the colorway is Firecracker.

For Spinning I have been working on a wool, silk and starina blend in a pretty pink, purple, orange colorway.

 The white stuff is the silk and it doesn't want to hold together.  It breaks every time I start spinning it by itself.  It really works up well when it's included with other fiber.  Unfortunately the way this bump was prepared the silk is separate almost everywhere. So we'll see what it becomes.  I'm still a beginner spinner.  So It's practice.

Have a wonderful weekend.  I'm going on the Los Angeles Yarn Crawl.  Started Thursday.  We're hitting all 29 stores in 2 days.

WiPs Wednesday

Happy Wednesday!

It's going to be a short one this week.  I moved over the weekend and so my knitting time has been consolidated to travel time only.

I've made progress on the Easter Socks (I've named them that because they scream Easter egg to me).

Yarn is Cascade Heritage Prints color # 12. I like it for the most part (although the green stripped section has become splitty in parts-none of the other colors have been splitty so far-so i'm thinking the fiber didn't like that dye).

I've made it past the heel turn and am working on the gussets.

Update on the kickstarter:  We've learned that other kickstarters have not been fulfilling their rewards as promised lately which has caused kickstarter to have lost its good reputation.  We aren't going to make our goal so no one will be charged.  We've had a lot of positive feedback on our shirt designs and will be selling them through a T-Shirt company that will do the printing and fulfillment so our customers have a guarantee that they'll get the product they order.  More info on that when it's ready to launch.

For more WiPs check out stitch-along-wednesday.

Have a great week.

WiPs Wednesday

Happy Wednesday!

It's going to be a short one this week.  I have a few WiPs but only one photo to show you.  I finished a couple of things over the last few weeks and haven't made much progress on some other things.  Plus I'm moving again.  This weekend.  I'm about 40% packed.  Moving is such fun. The packing part sucks.  The not being able to find my tape gun sucks.  But the actual moving is fun.  (I grew up moving-Army brat).

So this week I have a new pair of two at a time socks on circulars.  I'm calling them my Easter socks.

The colors are on probation.  I like them all individually but they're not doing it for me together.  They'll most likely be a store sample anyway.

The yarn is Cascade Heritage Prints color 12.  This is a 75% Superwash Merino wool and 25% nylon sock yarn.  Feels good on the hands.  And its working up nicely.  No knots when I wound the yarn- always a bonus.

I have a bit to go before I do the heel turn and gusset.

Looking for more?  Check out Stitch Along Wednesday for more WiPs and inspiration.

Five on Friday

It's Friday!!!!!  TGIF!!!!  Love me some Fridays!

Enough exclamation points for you?  I love Fridays.  It means two whole days without having to commute on the train for a few hours each day to go to work.  Don't get me wrong I love the knitting time.  But I love time off more.

This week I am trying a new link up through the Love Made My Home Blog.  It's called Five on Friday.

1.  I have an FO and since Fridays used to be Finished Objects Fridays I thought it appropriate to show them off here.  They are a new pair of socks.  Made out of the Fable yarn.  I hated, just hated, every minute of knitting these until I was past the gusset.  There is nothing wrong with the yarn.  The needles I used annoyed me slightly, but it wasn't that either.  They aren't my "colors".  That was offered as a theory as to why I didn't like knitting them (at knitting group where it was noticed they were hanging around as a WiP much longer than usual for socks).  I couldn't tell you.  I just would knit a row, get bored and work on something else.  But they are done.  And I like them.

2.  Camping.  I've been thinking about going camping lately.  The thing I like best about camping is that you can do as much or as little as you want.  It is perfectly acceptable to sit around a camp fire and knit or chat or just stare at the scenery as it is to hike and run or play with little toys like quads all day.  Here's a picture of the last time I went camping (which happened to be in the desert on a dry lake bed-a first experience for me-the desert camping that is).

3.  Count your blessings.  It's good to be reminded to think about all of the blessings that we have in our lives and forget or stop focusing on the bad.

4.  Decisions.  One of the most fun experiences in starting a new yarn store is getting to meet with yarn distributor representatives.  Yesterday we met with the rep for among other things, Frog Tree Yarns  and another rep from Cascade.  Here's a few of the Cascade yarns we looked at and get to play with while we determine which yarns to carry.

5.  Our Kickstarter.  Please help us get the word out about our kickstarter.  We think the shirts and other rewards are fun and priced reasonably (if you have an opinion or an idea-let us know-comment here or on kickstarter.)

Shirt of the day:

The animals will be white because we've decided to do colored shirts and will have a variety of colors to choose from.  

Fiberlicious Kickstarter Link

For more 5 on Fridays go to Love Made My Home

Have a great weekend and Make something fun or yummy or both