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

WiPs Wednesday

Happy Hump Day!  So I just have a couple of things to show you today.  I know I have a pile of WiPs in a basket at home and it's past time to dig into them and finish them up.  Especially the ones that are just about done.  But it's so much more enticing to start something new-isn't it.

First up is the Suri Shawl. I was gifted a Suri shawl as part of a Christmas swap and I love love love it.  So I wanted to make another one. I chose a skein of 100% purple silk.  I am using the needle size recommended in the pattern.  The shawl has a tighter gauge than the finished shawl I was gifted.  So I plan to cast on yet another one and change the needle size to several sizes up to get that nice loose gauge that my first Suri has.

It's a bit past the half way point.  Still loving it.  Simple knit.

The only other WiP I've got updated photos of is my Boo Knit- Out of Darkness shawl being knit of out some incredibly thin lace weight-mystery yarn.  If I remember correctly a friend found this yarn at a goodwill or store like it and it was labeled wool.

So far the needles still weight at least twice the weight of the knitted shawl.  It's like a cloud.  I really can't wait for it to be finished.  But I haven't had the time to knit on it and with beads it is not ideal for train knitting.

Have you heard of the Woolful Podcast?  I just found out about it.  I don't remember which podcaster mentioned it, but it was within the last couple of weeks.  I highly recommend you listen.  Her episodes are a bit long but I really enjoy them.  You can find her the Woolful Podcast show notes and Blog here.

Also another subtle reminder about my kickstarter.  Please take a look.
Fiberlicious Kickstarter

And another example of one of our rewards-a T-Shirt:

Have a great week.  And take a look at other bloggers Stitch alongs at Stitch Along Wednesdays

Tuesday Fo's

Hi Everyone!  I'm glad it's Tuesday.  I like seeing the week go by and Mondays are just not fun.  It's probably because we've just ended 2 days of work free freedom.  (Assuming you've got a M-F schedule like me).  Even when I didn't I think Mondays were hard.  It's probably a mental thing.  What do you think??

In any case Happy Tuesday.  I've got a few finished objects to show you.  It's been a bit since I've posted an FO (although there have been a lot done-I've just been lazy getting photos and posting).

First up-a hat I knit during Christmas week.  Just a basic knit hat-something that I was able to throw in a small purse and take out whenever I had a minute waiting in line (which lets face it-that's everywhere you go during that season).

This hat was knit out of malabrigo Rasta I believe.  

Next up is the Cascade Sweater I knit for a friend's little girl.

 I lengthened the sweater because both parents are tall and she's inherited the height.  I also did an extra repeat of the leave pattern and knit the 2 year size so that E can wear it this year and next. 

Check out these buttons- adorable:

I found the buttons in a Joann's.  (It's what was available to me at the time I was doing the finishing-traveling doesn't always give you a lot of options).  And Joann's did not have a great selection that day.  But the sheep with dangling feet couldn't be passed up and little purple flowers seemed like a good idea.

My Last Fo is the Hitchhiker scarf.  Knit in Shibui sock in red.  This was a special request from my mom after Christmas.  At Christmas I lent her my hitchhiker (green) and she loved it and requested one knit in red.

I haven't blocked it yet and may decide to mail it off unblocked.  The points seem to be fine without blocking and the size is fine without any stretching.  Thoughts?  Do you always block?

I also wanted to tell you about a blog I stumbled across.  I use google translator to read it but it's her photos that draw me in.  Gorgeous hikes and buildings in Bulgaria.  Check it out at Carmela's blog here

And please check out my Kickstarter and share with your friends.

The reward I am highlighting today is another T-shirt design:

Have a great Tuesday!

Kickstarter

Hi Everyone:

Happy Monday!  I just wanted to share with you and ask that you share with your friends and family; that I've launched a kickstarter with a friend to raise the remaining funds for our new store.

We've designed some fun shirts and have some other rewards we think any knitter, crocheter or spinner would like.

The link is: Fiberlicious Yarn store Kickstarter

You can see all of our rewards on the kickstarter page.  I'd like to highlight one here today:

We'll be giving you a choice of sizes and colors to choose from.

You can keep up to date on all of our progress at the kickstarter page or on our Facebook page.

Thanks for reading my pitch.  I'll be back tomorrow with some recent finished objects and will return to my regular blogging schedule this Wednesday with WiPs.

WiPs a day late

It's Thursday.  I love Thursdays.  Why you ask?  It's because I have a wonderful knitting/crochet group that meets Thursday nights; so the day goes by faster than usual.  And because it means tomorrow is Friday, the start of the weekend and two work free days (most of the time anyway).

I didn't get around to posting my Wednesday WiPs post yesterday so I'm giving you a short look today.

I have a huge pile of WiPs but only two photos with me.

First up is the Cascade Sweater by Raya Budrevich.  I'm making the 2T size in the hopes that it will fit my friend's baby this year and next.  She's currently a year old.

This is a really fast knit.  It's easy and fun. It's been my train knitting this week.  I hope to have it done soon so it can be worn before it warms up in Oklahoma where it is headed.

These are just a basic pair of stripped fingerless mitts that I cast on a couple of weeks ago.  They're basically done (not shown in the fuzzy pic above).  I need to weave in ends and may decide to redo the thumb if I decide to send them to my Dad.

I cast on another sweater for myself the other day and just did the first row.  I picked it up last night to work on it and noticed I did a one by one rib and it calls for a two by two.  So I will rip that out and start over this weekend.  

I also need to go through all my WiPs and make plans to finish or rip.  More on that later.  

I don't have a link to other WiPs today because the blogger who was linking us together hasn't blogged in a couple of months.  When I find a new one to link to I'll start that up again.  

Have a great Thursday.  So close to weekend freedom!

Happy New Year & a Few Fo's

Happy New Year!

It's good to be back at work and having a regular schedule (well everyone else having a regular schedule).  It's hard to get everything done that needs to be done when half the world is on a Holiday schedule or vacation or half days.

I am looking forward to this year. It's going to be a great year.  A lot of changes ahead.  Some people write goals for the year and I used to be one of them.  (I actually completed most of them when I wrote them down).  The trick is to make a plan with written check ups along the way to make sure you are on track and then you will be sure to accomplish your goal.  The Knitmore Girls (of the same named podcast) typically come up with a word or a theme for their new year.  I like that idea, although it seems more fluid than a goal and I personally do not think I would accomplish anything.

So this year I am combining the two.  My theme for the year is redesign.  I am redesigning my life.  My marriage is ending (The hubs decided he was done being married-mainly because I don't do what I'm told-which is the deepest hole of bullshit-its ridiculous-was he my boss or husband?) Doesn't matter.  It is over and I am moving forward.  Lighter.  So much stress has already been lifted.

I am also redesigning my career.  I am not a happy lawyer.  I am a happy knitter.  So I am forging ahead with some friends and will be opening a yarn store in Orange County, California this year.  The when, how, where, etc are all up in the air.  Especially the how (we need money).  So we're exploring options and I'll keep you up to speed on that.

I'm redesigning my lifestyle.  I used to be active.  I like to run (I know I'm one of those nutjobs).  I got lazy, hubs influence, broken foot x 2,  among other reasons are why I stopped.But I have set the goal to take a minimum of 10,000 steps per day.  I have a fitbit to track that.  And I am changing my food intake to be more conscious of what I am eating.  Making better choices.  (I don't do diets).

I will be continuing to knit and will try to be more consistent with posting on the blog.

I have a pile of Finished Objects from the end of the year that I never posted.  I have only a couple of photos for now and will get the rest posted as I go.

First up-a basic beanie I made out of malibrigo in a pretty teal color

A shawl collar cowl and fingerless mitts

Close up of the buttons

I drove up to Oregon for Christmas this year and caught a spectacular shot of Mt Shasta:

And I have to leave off with this shot I took of my niece as she rode the carousel.  She loves it.

Makes me smile.

Have a wonderful week. I'll be back with a WiPs post Wednesday.  There may be more than 15 WiPs.  But don't tell anyone.  And no I don't have a startitis problem.  It's a finishitits problem.

WiPs Wednesday

It's December.  How did that happen?  And it's Wednesday; which means its Work in Progress day.

I've finished a few things over the last several weeks, I just haven't gotten the ends sewn in and photos taken.  So check in Friday for some FOs.

This week I am working on socks for me.  I also have the Emelie sweater and some finishing touches on other sweaters.

I just cast these on yesterday.  They're interesting.  I'm not sure about the colors.  Just not my colors.  But they're socks-so who cares.

The Emelie sweater.  I had to rip back 5 inches of this sweater because I managed to get off track on the lace panels.  The pattern is annoying.  It is over 6 pages with instructions scattered throughout in something other than order.  I have to flip back to page one, then 2 and back to 5 or 6 or wherever I may be in the pattern.  And because my postit note lost stickiness I lost my spot and guessed wrong.  I need to rewrite the instructions ignoring the instructions for all of the other sizes and lengths and put the lace charts on a separate page I can lay next to my instructions and then I think I will be on track.  It doesn't help that this is sock weight yarn on tiny needles.  What was I thinking?

I am also working on finishing up a couple of sweaters that have been hanging around way longer than they should.  The neckline is horrible.  I have to figure out what I want to do to fix it.  Maybe crocheting around the edge instead of knitting?  Maybe an Icord?  Any ideas?

For more WiPs check out Tamis Amis' Blog.

Have a great week.

Unpacking Blues

Hi Everyone.  I would say Happy Tuesday, but alas today is not a happy Tuesday for me.  Work is not at all joyful at the moment.  At home I am still unpacking.  I lost most of my motivation to get unpacked.  I have most of a living room-you can even see the floor.  My bedroom/office/hallway are more like an obstacle course.  Boxes and bags of shoes are everywhere.  I have a lot of shoes.  I need to have less shoes.

That's the hardest part about moving-going through everything deciding what to keep, what to sell and what to give away.

I've talked about swaps before on the blog.  I'm a member of several groups on Ravelry that do swaps.  I signed up for a Christmas swap and knowing that my move was coming up and that I was going to be out of town more than I was in town I put together the presents early. Then I put them in a safe place.  Here's the message I just posted on the discussion page for the swap:

Dear Partner:

I was a good swapper-I collected almost everything necessary for your present before I moved. I put it all together in a safe place. I mean a really safe place. Now if only I could locate the safe place. Finding your presents is my new motivation for finishing the unpacking and organizing of my house. But never fear-should the unpacking not be successful you will still get an awesome package-just not the original one.

I love moving. Yup-I do. Fun times. Who wouldn't rather pack and unpack instead of knitting? Anyone? Anyone?

I promise to ship on time if not early.

-Frazzled Amy

I've unpacked all of my yarn stash and the bags related to fiber.  So far that package is being illusive.  I can replace the yarn easily.  The handmade won't be as easy-but still doable in my time frame before shipping.  I believe that I need to begin to write everything down.  Maybe I should look into one of those bullet journals people have been talking about over the last couple of years.

What do you do to keep track of your life?

See you tomorrow for WiPs Wednesday.  Oh and I am changing my mood-smiling now and pretending all is well.  I've heard that works to help change your attitude.  We'll see how that works out.

Challenge-Craft Friday, Scorn Black Friday

My family has always celebrated Thanksgiving during which we take a step back from our every day lives to give Thanks.  We spend the day together, creating a meal together and remembering and giving thanks for all of the things that we are grateful for.  Spending the day with friends and family.

There are several different stories to the start of Thanksgiving, from the Puritans celebrating religious matters to settlers near Plymouth Rock having a feast to celebrate the harvest.  In the United State Thanksgiving was proclaimed to be a National Holiday by George Washington.

As President of the United States, George Washington proclaimed the first nation-wide thanksgiving celebration in America marking November 26, 1789, "as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favours of Almighty God".(Hodgson, Godfrey (2006) A Great and Godly Adventure: The Pilgrims and the Myth of the first Thanksgiving.)

In Canada there are just as many stories as to the origin as there are in the US.  From explorers celebrating a successful journey from England to celebrating a successful harvest.

In recent years, there has been a lot of discussion about consumerism and the disasters that have come with Black Friday (shoppers being trampled or shot).  And let's not forget the last few years how Black Friday has become Black Thursday.  

There have been calls to boycott stores that open early for sales by interrupting the holiday and there are just as many responding with arguments that people can make their own choices.  This year I came across a different kind of call.  One that turns the negative into a positive.  Instead of asking for a boycott, one blogger is challenging readers to have Craft Friday.

Craft Friday should be spent with friends and family (or by yourself) crafting whatever you'd like.  You can use the time to make handmade gifts for others or things for yourself.  There are pinterest boards with crafting ideas if you need some inspiration and discussion boards popping up to talk about Craft Friday.  

To see where the idea started or to get the links to pinterest and other related sites go see Pomo Golightly.  

Pomo will follow up with a Craft Friday Declaration Post Party where you can share your inspiration, why you chose to participate and what you made (unless that's top secret).

I remember, not too long ago, when Thanksgiving meant the majority of businesses were closed.  Few restaurants were open (most closed early-fast food type places), stores closed, and grocery stores closed early.  That meant most people were able to spend the day with family or friends.  It makes me sad to see how many businesses have stopped closing at all.  I'd like to see a return to a time when spending time with family and friends was more important than keeping a business open.  So I am in.  I will not shop on Thanksgiving day.  I will not be shopping on Black Friday.  On Friday November 28th I will craft.

What will you be doing?

WiP Wednesday

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

I have a pile of WiPs.  Literally a pile.  See:

I know that there are at least 2 sweaters in progress and one almost done.  I think that there are a couple of pairs of socks.  As to the rest-no clue.  I moved a few weeks ago.  I put all of the project bags with WiPs in a pile in this basket in my new living room.  I have not gone through them.  I really didn't think I had that many ongoing projects.

Didn't stop me from starting something new either.  My latest-Mini Christmas hat ornaments.

This is for a swap.  They are slightly larger than a quarter.  Mini, tiny hats.  I used an i-cord to form the loops to hang them.

I've also done a bit of sewing.  Project bags.

And my current WiP that goes in my purse and therefore gets the most time are these socks.  I cast them on Monday and have spent an hour or so.

For more WiPs see Tamis Amis' Blog and all the WiP posts linked at the bottom.

Have a great week.

WiPs and a Woolen Mill Tour

Happy Wednesday everyone!  It's been a bit since I've written a post.  I've been doing a lot of traveling in the past couple of months and moved somewhere in there.  Life has been crazy-lots of changes.

Wednesday WiPs:

I'm currently working on a pair of socks for my Dad.  They are so close to being done-just a couple of ends need weaving in and a tiny hole on one gusset needs closing.

I cast on a purple hat for my niece Hazel at her request.  For Christmas this year she asked for a purple hat with ear flaps and pom poms.  She wanted ribbing around the edge and some strings with more pom poms.  I am tickled pink that she knew what ribbing was and that she knew exactly what type of hat she wanted.  I did not show her any pictures, she just told me exactly what she wanted.  She is a very smart 4 year old.  Of my 31 nieces and nephews she is the only one who requested a knit item.

I'm still working on my Emelie sweater even though I haven't picked it up in weeks.  I've decided to add a rip cord and rip back to the end of the ribbed section.  I feel like I've gotten off track with the lace panel sections.  And I tore the pattern apart because it includes way too many instructions that aren't relevant to the size I am knitting.  And that was causing problems.  I couldn't ever remember where I was or what was next.

I've got a couple of fingerless mitts to cast on next.

I don't have any pictures of my knitting today but you can see all of the recent photos on Instagram if you'd like to check them out.  I am amylbingham on Instagram.

That's it for WiPs.  For more check out Tamis Amis' blog

I have been holding on to the rest of this post for a while.  When I traveled to Oregon for Oregon Flock and Fiber (OFF) with friends, we took a trip to the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill in Salem, Oregon.  The rest of today's post is picture heavy.  I don't think you'll mind.

The Mill originally opened in the 1890's.  A fire took it down to nothing a few years later and the town banded together to rebuild the brick structure that still stands today.  The mill stopped production in the 1960's.  However the daughter of the founder of the Mill opened a mill in Eastern Oregon as a spin off of the Thomas Kay Mill and that Mill is still in production today.  You may know it- The Pendleton  Woolen Mill.  Pendleton was opened by Thomas Kay's oldest daughter and her husband after Thomas Kay retired and left management of the mill to his son's and left out his daughter who had been an integral part of managing the mill.

I hope you enjoy the photos (in no particular order) and see somethings that you recognize.

This is a swing built by some of the original workers.

 Teasel wicks-to fluff up the fabric.

 Old time cards

 washing room

 One of the older weaving machines.  They turned this on for less than a minute.  The picture below shows you how much it wove in under a minute (about an inch and a half-see the top part of the blue yarn)

 Wheelbarrow to move raw wool

 raw wool into the machine to separate out rocks and veg matter

 Hand carder station-so you can try hand carding wool

 The red plaid is a piece of fabric made here.  

Some of the workers.  At one time my great grandparents worked for this Mill (found that out after the fact).  I was happy to learn that the workers at this Mill were treated fairly and well paid.  They had a good community that was supported by the town.

One of the old sewing machines.  Take a close look at the gadget they use to keep the blanket edging in place and turned before sewing.  Would be very useful to have at home.

 Bobbins in a pitcher at the window

 Dusty bobbin on the weaving machine

 Huge barrel of bobbins.  Hardly faded after more than 40 years.

 Yarn cones made here at the mill-They processed the raw wool, spun the yarn, dyed the yarn and wove blankets and fabrics at the Mill until 1962.

 spinning room

 Lisa and Bessie taking a closer look at some wool

 Weaving machines.  Back when the mill was in operation they used young boys to crawl in there to replace a bobbin or pick one up if the machine threw it.  Glad I didn't have that job.

 Lots of wool

 More bobbins-these were a mess of tangled threads

 Pile of raw wool waiting for its turn to be pretty

 Inspecting and hand sewing blankets after the machines were done

 sewing room

 The Mill supplied the US Military with blankets for quite a few years.  Each blanket was stamped here.

 Becoming a plaid fabric

The Mill was fascinating.  It was great seeing all of the machines and how they all worked.  I would recommend the guided tour if you are in Salem and have a couple of hours to spare.