Hanks in the Hood

New Yarn Line

2011-05-15T21:57:00.000-07:00

Hanks in the Hood is proud to announce our new yarn line. This line will be available exclusively at Andersen Fiber Works. For those of you who can't make it to the store can shop on line through our website. We are starting off with a few colors from the Mt. St. Helens line. This is a bulky yarn(of course that is what I would start off with.....for those of you who have been following me over the years know I am a chunky girl!) These are 100% Peruvian Highland Wool. They are hand dyed in small batches. Each skein will be slightly different so if you are knitting a larger project we recommend alternating skeins as there are no set dyelots. There are 8 colorways available in this line. Each skein is 4oz./120 yards and retails for $10. If you are looking for a larger project we sell 1lb skeins of 500 yards at a discount price of $30.If ordering online we ship priority mail. Priced at $5.75 for the first item and $1 for each additional item purchased. Shipping is free on purchases of $100 or more. The website is set up to purchase through PayPal. If you do not have a PayPal account or prefer to make a telephone or fax order we accept all major credit cards. To call in an order we can be reached at 503-667-6852 or fax your order to 503-492-6652

Experiencing some nausea, having heart palpitations and am on the verge of depression

2011-05-05T18:31:00.000-07:00

Well you know what that means.........yes it is true I just received my copy of Interweave Knits today. We have a PO box and as I was running errands I grabbed the mail. I was extremely excited to find a yellow note(meaning I have a package)and my knitting magazine tucked into my tiny little box amongst some other unnecessary things such as bills, flyers and the latest Costco coupons. As just last week we had snow on the ground, not to mention I was bundled in layers that consisted of a tank top, hoodie and vest(here I thought we were warming up)as I went to check the mail. The furthest thing from my mind is Summer let alone Spring. I tasted Spring yesterday as I was in the most wonderful place on earth(Andersen Fiber Works opening June 3rd)as I realized according to my cars temperature that it was 70 out. The number quickly dropped as I drove home to 62. Still happy because the sun was shining, but wake up today not even close to 40 and no sun in sight. Even the chickens are pissed. All winter they laid eggs because of the heat lamp. It recently burnt out and we thought we were ok as it is now May and that it would be warm enough to make them happy to continue to lay. Nope.....nothing. It's either the cold or the fact that they were cranking out the eggs all the way up to Easter. I really am leaning towards the fact that the chickens had an epiphany and realized how messed up it is that it is an Easter Bunny that hides the eggs and not an Easter Chicken.....can you blame them? I think I would be a little pissed too letting that bunny get all the credit. Anyways I am getting off track, so back to what should be a glorious day at the post office. So I allow the magazine to hide quality underneath the rest of the mail in the front seat as I patiently wait for the kids to get off of the school bus. Now when a knitting magazine comes in the mail, it is almost like a holiday. At the Andersen house one doesn't just tear into the magazine and rush through it in between snack time or making dinner. It is an event that is either saved for bathing or while I am enjoying a glass of wine while the kids are quietly in the tub. Tonight was definitely not a glorious knitting magazine arrival night. Tyler informed me at 5pm that he wouldn't be home until past 8pm, which means no bath unless I would like to do it half asleep after I put the kids to bed, and no way am I messing up my quarterly glorious occasion. So frustrated but having to switch gears and think fine I will get the kids to bed bypass the wine because it will be too late and give me heartburn, but still have time to sit on the couch and enjoy reading it(in silence)before Tyler gets home.............that is when it hits me. I was cooking dinner and getting ready to set the table. The mail with the magazine underneath it was on the table and as I picked it up trying to avoid even looking at the cover I caught the small lettering of the word Summer. For those of you who are worsted to bulky weight sweater knitters I know you are with me right now. For the rest of you this is the most depressing edition I could receive. I knew it was coming, but still so unexpected and then to day of all days. I can usually try and make something good out of the summer edition especially if there is a glass of wine and a bath involved. NOPE, not this time. Instant depression. Here I sit blogging and whining too frightened to open the magazine in fear of the depression getting worse. Words of cotton and lace spin through my head as Eunny tries to talk me into liking it. So here is to summer..as I sit freezing with my fireplace on in flannel pajamas and a fleece jacket avoiding my magazine. Hopefully the sun will be back and I will have a happier post about the summer edition that I won't even dare pick up for another good 2 months. Thank goodness the next Sookie Stackhouse book is due out to lift my spirits. Not to mention I am creating my dream shop! I guess I can't feel too bad.

Buried in Fiber!

2011-04-13T20:22:00.000-07:00

I have been in full on production, getting ready for the opening of the shop. We are only able to work on the shop on the weekends due to Tyler's schedule. I have had to go in a few times these past couple of weeks to get all the utilities on, but the rest of my week is spent at home creating and doing the business side of things. I have been licensed with the state of Oregon under Hanks in the Hood for over 4 years now. I have my own business accounts, I use quickbooks, and file my taxes under self employed and I thought I had the business side of things down. Boy was I wrong. I am having to learn a lot and very quickly. It is all very exciting, but keep having to try and find that balance between the business aspect and production. I am creating a whole new yarn line with pattern support as well as a new batt line. In the middle of all of this my camera decided to call it quits. I finally figured out how to use an old one of Tyler's and finally have some photos to show off what I am working on. Last month I attended the Abernethy Grange fiber sale and about fell over when I came across Dicentra's booth. She had these great big beautiful balls of fiber that she calls Great Balls of Fire. I was awestruck and just sat drooling. I forced myself away before buying anything as I took a tour around the rest of the show then I immediately high tailed it back up to her booth bought 2lbs and attacked her right there saying I have to have you in my shop!!!!! Luckily I didn't scare her away and she is excited to be apart of the shop. I took that gorgeous 2lb ball of loveliness and I kid you not slept next to it. Seriously, I actually took that fiber to bed with me. I had seen her work online and heard numerous people just rave about her, but I had never seen it in person. Let me say it doesn't disappoint. Well I ended up lasting 10 full days(they were torturous) without spinning my 2lbs. I finally had to give into the temptation and spun it all up within 2 days. I just couldn't stop. Then of course I had to start knitting and designing a sweater for it. I have designed a simple raglan from the top down heavy on the ribbing. I have both sleeves to go and to figure out something for the neck. I can't decide quite yet if I should just continue with a ribbed collar, but a hood is really calling my name. We'll see. Dicentra will be at the Hood River Gorge fiber festival this coming weekend and on her way through she is stopping by the shop to check things out and drop off some of her beautiful work. I am really hoping to have the sweater done so I can show her. It is Wednesday night and I am pushing my bed time. Tomorrow I have a big field trip with my son that is overnight. So I have very limited time to get this done as I will be leaving the field trip early so I can meet her at the shop. So I guess I better shut up, post the pictures and get back onto the sleeves.

Hanks in the Hood introduces Andersen Fiber Works LLC

2011-03-26T17:55:00.000-07:00

Hanks is expanding from the home studio and onto bigger things. Read more about my adventures here on Blogger under Andersen Fiber Works.
Ravelry users feel free to join the Andersen Fiber Works group as well to follow along in my journey of opening a shop!

Lot's of catching up to do!

2011-03-18T18:17:00.000-07:00

Well I am so behind this is definitely going to have to go in stages. Everyone is pissed off at me as I am enthralled in fiber! The Wii and TV are babysitting my children, my favorite blue heeler Sootie is shitting in my studio(sorry for the bad language), I'm not responding to emails, skiing, barely exercising, of course still time to eat and have some wine, but other then that I have been in a creative fiber coma. Lots of good things on the horizon and like I said we must go in stages! I have to drag you all along to keep you interested right!? So I think we pretty much left off with WoolDude and new wheels. He is still at it, but the love and magic I was feeling has faded a bit. He's trying.....and I love him for that. So here is what we've got. An Ashford Country Spinner, A Babe(shhh didn't say that), and a Kromski Sonata. The bottom line is...........he wants my Lendrum. Damn it! As I mentioned before the Country is definitely a specialty wheel and we are still building a relationship. I dream of elaborate art yarns and I know she will be the one to take me there. We just need to find our rhythm. Those of you who follow me on my Ravelry group heard me just gloat and love all over the Sonata. Well a few second thoughts there as well. Don't get me wrong beautiful, smooth, wonderful wheel. I just think that I am so attached to my Lendrum that I can't move. The Sonata is definitely a nice wheel. Especially for the person on the go. The way it folds down and the carrying bag it comes with along with the price tag it can't be beat! Definitely gets a 4 out of 5 star rating in my book as I once again have to compare it to my above and beyond 10 star Lendrum. Tyler does really like the Sonata but loves the Lendrum more because of the height. Very easy fix as he needs to keep away from my wheel. I have decided to mark my territory by having projects going on all the Lendrum bobbins I have. HEEE HEEEE. Don't feel too bad for him though. I bought him a Sonata. So now we must talk about the Babe. People I must say I do not hate it. Seriously I would rather have someone buy a new Babe then go on Craigslist and pick up an Ashford Traditional for $1-200. Once again do not curse me Ashford people. I have owned two and I am entitled to my opinion. As much as I feel the Babe is an embarrassment, like my friend Brenda said how many times do you really take your wheel out and spin in front of others.........so what's the embarrassment. Then my friend Carrie, who is the reason I broke down and bought the wheel, says"I love it because it is my thrasher wheel...I take it with me to shows and it is easy to transport and I don't care if it gets beat up" Ok sorry Carrie I shouldn't have used quotations because you didn't say that word for word, but you all get the gist. Here is the end all opinion. Don't fight the Babe. If money is what is stopping you from buying a wheel and getting into spinning..........do not I repeat.......do not hit Craigslist and buy one of the million Ashford Traditionals that are listed on there. People they are always on there for a reason. Seriously go with the Babe. All the accessories that come with it you can't go wrong. If you are like me..paint it with cute flowers make it your own or close your damn eyes while your spinning so you don't have to focus on the fact it is made from PVC. New agers, environmentalist........the Babe is for you. As I said I have to take these blog posts in stages. There is so much I want to write about and scream from the roof tops, but I must keep you all dangling as the timing isn't right quite yet. I can say this.....working on a new set line of batts and yarns. Hoping to get out to some smaller shops that want to dabble in the spinning thing without investing tons of money. I have 2 other potential..... big projects in the works and 1 that is definitely happening. Can't wait to share all the fiber love and creativity that has caused this lack of silence and dog shit in my studio. Have a great weekend everyone. For those of you who are on Spring Break(we are) I hope you are warm and sunny and planting your garden instead of being hit with snow.(we are). Oh before I sign off, of course a few pictures and totally off fiber.........looking for a good movie Burlesque.....sorry I don't care what she is in I love Cher. I also really enjoyed the Fighter. Besides the fact that Marky Mark(I mean Mark Whalberg) is so nice to look at it is another sad, but feel good movie. Definitely worth watching. Ok I am done. I am being spoiled as hubby just finished dinner. Nevermind that it is sandwiches and french fries.....I have my wine and I am happy.

Photos: The embarrassment of putting together the Babe. Notice the dogs fighting and the glass of wine!

The silence is almost over!

2011-03-14T17:07:00.000-07:00

I have been so busy lately so I must apologize on the lack of posting. I have so much to talk about and catch up on I am going to have to do it in stages, so get ready for a swarm of posts in the next week! Hope everyone is well and full of fiber!

Battless shop for the day!

2011-02-26T10:47:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note I have pulled all batts from my shop for an event I am doing today. I will have more batts back online this evening and tomorrow. Thanks, Jen

The creative juices are flowing(or is it that my husband has stole all my fiber)

2011-02-25T21:11:00.000-08:00

Well my friends here we are a week into it and a bit of an issue has come upon us. Now I have always known what I like and am a driven person and well I like to be in control of things. With that being said I also am a very compassionate, sensitive and a giving person. All of a sudden I have had to check myself. At first it was all fun and games. "Oh yes you can use my wheel......let me find you some fiber.........oh I love that I can share what makes me so happy with you.....this is great!!!!!" Once again a week later. Need I say more! Not only have I had to share my wheel and now fiber and the questions of what is this and where did it come from. Oh no....what have I done, he as actually dug and found my very secret stash(yes like the rest of you I have fiber hoarding issues). I feel like I am in pre-school and do not want to share my crayons. It is so bad that in addition to the Country Spinner(which lets face it was a selfish buy on my part:)) I have decided to not only purchase one, but two new wheels for WoolDude(my DH) today. Stop.....I know what you are all thinking. I listened to everyone's advice who spoke out on Ravelry and the consensus was Kromski is awesome. So I went with the Sonata. Now that was after.......oh goodness I can't believe I am going to say this........UHHHH........an impulsive buy of a Babe. Ok there I got it out. This seriously is worse then admitting I cried at the Justin Bieber movie. For those of you who are not familiar with the Babe spinning wheel, well let me put it frankly and say it is made out of PVC. YEP I said it and not only said it but I bought it. Now you Babe lovers out there don't kill me yet! As much of the idea of a PVC wheel makes me cringe I have seen some beautiful artwork painted on them, that make them such a desirable wheel, not to mention the price. Well here I am not buying this wheel to look cute but for my husband who is on a spinning kick that I will not allow to die(God willing). So needless to say he won't be painting on pretty flowers to decorate his wheel, it will strictly be PVC piping. Thank god they now offer it in all black, that helps. Ok so enough with the shame, I have to say what changed my mind was when I was at OFFF(Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival) I was so fortunate to meet some of my Ravelry buds and two of them, who I have to say are beyond talented....have Babe wheels. CraftyPuppyLover and BohoKnitterChic. You can find both Carry and Britany on Ravely and Etsy under those usernames. Both of them were spinning on Babes and swore by them. Carry, bless her heart offered for me to try hers out and I politely(but inside snobishly)said oh no thank you. She went on and on about how much she loved her wheel. Then there is my friend Carla (CarliCurlyCewes) who you have all heard me talk about who lives up here on the mountain next to me. Well she is not only fiber obsessed, but craigslist, ravelry, internet, and anything that can give her more insight into the world of what wool can do for her....starts mentioning the Babe to me. Cringing and yelling at her is my response as I try and get her to sell off what she has accumulated and buy a Lendrum. Which let me just say at this point she has only experienced the Ashford Traditional(which is 30+years old)which is what I started on. She recently picked up a double treadle Kiwi. Once again please don't yell at me because my post isn't done quite yet, but needless to say I have begged and pleaded with her to try my Lendrum and she won't do it. She, just like I was, is so attached to her first wheel and so wanted what a "traditional" wheel looked like. I so know how she feels. Now here comes the opinion and all of you that have Traditionals can yell at me now, but quite frankly they suck! I have had two. My first wheel was a Traditional and I didn't know any better until about a year and a half later and thought this is horrible there has to be more to spinning then this. That is when I called Paradise Fibers and they suggested the Lendrum. LOVE. Let me just say it was like driving my 1974 KarmanGhia and jumping up to the new Camaro we just bought. The KarmanGhia was and still is my dream car, but he was a bitch that needed constant attention. They weren't called a "Poor Man's Porsche" for no reason. I could never just say oh I am driving the ghia and he started right up. By the way he was bright orange with a black convertible top and his name was Peter. To this day he is still my dream car, but there will be a time and place where he fits into my life. Right now isn't it. Same as the Traditional. She is pretty and such, but I just want to put her in a corner and have gooey feelings about her. Well I ran out of room and had to sell her twice. The second Traditional I ended up buying was because I got such a great deal on her because she came with the WooleeWinder. Still not the wheel for me and she is now gone.(Right there you Traditional lovers have to give me a break as I still have the comapassion to refer to the wheel as a she:) So there is my Ashford Traditional rant which still brings me back to the Babe and the shame I feel for buying my sweet husband a PVC wheel. That's where I decide to go with the Sonata. Isn't he spoiled? The Sonata(as with everything else)is going up in price. Right now they are retailing for $520 with the carrying bag and are going up in a matter of weeks to $600. I lucked out and got not only the wheel, carrying bag, but a jumbo flyer from CopperMoose for $520. So an expensive day and no sales this week. See how much I love my DH who has gotten into spinning?! Anyways we should have both wheels here within the next couple of weeks. Let me just say if you have been on the fence with the Kromski Sonata I highly suggest making the plunge, as there are very few stores still carrying them for the $520 price range. I purchased my Babe from my good friends at Paradise Fibers who also have the Sonata for $520. I happened to luck out and get the last package deal from CopperMoose with the additional jumbo flyer, so I bought the Sonata from him. Defintiely don't hesitate if it has been on your wish list, as with everything else in the fiber world prices are going up!. So that is how the end of our week ended up. I will be sure to post pictures of the wheels and how they work when we get them. I also will post some pictures of the Country Spinner all put together and the huge ass yarn I produced from it when it is done drying. Let me just give you a prelude that it is going to take some time to get used to. Before I end my long rant I have listed 4 new colorways that I would love some feedback on. If you like them enough to purchase I will comp the shipping charge. Just email me and mention this post and I will adjust the pricing on your invoice. Working on some new lines and would love any feedback or suggestions. Here is a question........on batts do you like them blended, layered, striped, or completely whacked out into an art batt? Thanks for reading the rant. Ashford Traditional lovers don't be too harsh on me, as I have been there and have an appreciation for the Traditional. Babe owners....you can't slam me yet, until I get the wheel and can really give a true opinion of it. Right now I was open minded enough to get one and am hoping for the best. Country chunky yarn will be posted before the end of the weekend. Stay warm and I welcome any feedback on wheels and colorways! Jen

PS to my sister who is an advanced English teacher......please forgive me for all the unplaced commas and how many times I used words such as which, so, ok,...etc. I knew I couldn't bother you at 10:30pm with a new baby to correct my blog! LOL.

Scrapper Batts

2011-02-21T13:56:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to give some further information on my batts that I like to call Scrappers. When carding, especially a big order I lose quite a bit of fiber on my carder. I save that fiber and then run it through again in all the crazy color combinations and wa la you have a scrapper. It is still the same high quality merino and bamboo that you get from my other batts. There is just no set color combination so they are really wild. Even though there are a variety of different scrappers listed they all go together very well if you are looking for a bigger funkier project. Sometimes I will list them as one big 10oz or so batt, other times I end up splitting the batt and that is where you get sister batts for the same name. Just wanted to clear that up so you weren't thinking you were purchasing low quality junk due to the name. If you have an questions do not hesitate to convo me on Etsy. In honor of President's day I am pricing these batts cheap! You can find them under the sale section. Here is a picture of the pile of leftovers I have been working down.

We have officially crossed the dark side!

2011-02-20T22:40:00.000-08:00

Yep, it's true! You are looking at pictures of WoolDude staining an Ashford Country Spinner. He has been telling the kids all day long that it is his, but we all know the truth. Oh the gateway to opportunity that my husband has given me. AhAhAh(that's supposed to be an evil laugh!) Oh the dreams I will be having of artyarns tonight!

PS Did you see the size of that orifice? Oh the possibilities!

Hanks in the Hood introduces Andersen Fiber Works LLC

2011-02-19T19:49:00.000-08:00

Lots of changes are taking place here with Hanks in the Hood. I(we)have quite a few exciting opportunities that have crossed our path. The last 6 years have been a real struggle for our family, as our children have been very sick. We have finally figured out the root of the problem(mold) and are fixing it. I am happy to announce that our two children have been extremely healthy this year. With all that being said I am so optimistic for what 2011 is bringing. I am in a position with growing healthy, children that I can really devote the time that I have always wanted to into Hanks in the Hood. I have finally got my husband to try my wheel and he is hooked. I hate to admit it but he is actually pretty good. His yarn looks a lot better then mine did when I started out. Of course that is because of his wonderful teacher!!! I also have other motives behind this, such as “Oh I NEED another wheel!” Tyler has been my driving force and support all these years and I am so thankful that he’s open enough to try out what brings me such joy. He has been calling himself WoolMan for the past month. That name was taken already on Ravelry, so for now it is WoolDude. I can’t say enough about how wonderful my husband has been in supporting my passion for spinning, knitting, and all things fiber related. He has built me two studios and a third one on the way. He has also built a barn for the sheep we will be getting this spring. I could not do or be where I am at without his hard work and support towards my passion. So if WoolDude has friended you don’t be scared! It is just my loving husband who has taken to spinning(I hope)! I do not know what the future holds, but as those of you who are involved in the fiber arts know our craft has endless possibilities. I am so excited for the future. Whether it is the constant fiber my poor family is pulling out of their dinner or the endless phrase of "Just one more row", or "dinner will be ready when I finish this bobbin", and I am sure their favorite "Don't bother me I am carding!!!" I am here because of their support. I love what I do and could not do it without the support of my family. My motive has and will always be that I stay very small and independent. Whether I am spinning, knitting, designing, or carding a batt, I do it with the utmost positive energy. Working with local farmers and other artists in my community is something that is very important to me and that I take great pride in. As I said earlier the fiber industry is endless and I plan to push myself to its limit. This is my passion, joy, and slowly becoming a way of life and I am loving every moment of it. It is very important to me to support other fiber artists in my area and beyond that have helped me get to where I am today. With that being said I will end this post thanking all of the inspirational people who have taken me to where I am now. Peacecat30, SplitRockRanch, WhorlingTides, PicoAccaurdiDyeWorks, Church,David, Uncle Ropes, Paradise Fibers, KnitPicks, Spun Out, Cast One On, Betsey Johnson, Megan Gaskill, John Fluevog, Tyler, Chapin, Riley, Grandma Poopie, Mom and Dad, my inlaws Julie and Lee, Grandma Shirley, Rhana, Kim, Brian, Sootie, Maverick, and Merlot. I must end with an extra special thanks to my father. He has this amazing love for animals that has been passed onto me. Other then my husband, he has been the next supportive force behind what I do. He is always on the look out for a wheel, loom(which I haven't even attempted yet) or fiber. Most importantly it is the love that we share for animals that has brought me to where I am today. Being involved in 4H with goats as a child and always having a dog, started the process of where I am today. It absolutely blows my mind that I can buy a fleece, process it, spin it, and make a sweater. Whether it is from a sheep, goat, rabbit or my dad's beloved Sadie,I have loved ever moment of what I have created. Thanks again to all of my support and the numerous people who have helped me to get where I am today, and the ones that I am sure I left out. Here's to the next phase of Hanks in the Hood!

Church rocked Lenny and his "nomadic vibe"

2011-02-14T12:53:00.000-08:00

Grammys, Oscars, Golden Globes, Sag Awards.....at the Andersen house it is all about watching the pre-show on the red carpet. We spent a wonderful day on the mountain and got back home around 3pm, with tired kids and lots to do before I was parking my ass in front of the tv by 5pm to watch the pre-show. Kids, dogs, chickens were all fed. Laundry going and not a minute to spare, but I made it! Here we are about an hour into the craziness on the red carpet I decide to put my knitting down and grab something to eat. Thank god for the wonderful invention of the DVR! I am in the kitchen and hear this massive squealing coming from the living room. Thinking it was coming from a hurt dog or my daughter because Justin Bieber just showed up I quickly drop my food and run into the living room. Low and behold it was coming from my husband who was having a heart attack watching Ryan Seacrest interview Lenny Kravitz. Of course Lenny looked hot and Ryan had to ask him who he was wearing and he said I quote "Old friends at Church boutique helped put me together." He attributed his look to an old nomadic vibe. Once again thanking god and the amazing person who invented the DVR! We were able to rewind and listen to Lenny say that a good 5 times. Of course the first thing I do is try and get a hold of the boys! I finally got David on the phone and we were able to have a good freakout moment together. He said that Lenny was in the store until 8:30pm the night before getting all put together. Very exciting moment for David and Rodney and all the work they have put into Church. Now if I could only incorporate some nomadic vibe into my knitting good ole Hanks in the Hood may be rockin' the carpet next year:)

On another Grammy note.......which I can not believe I am about to say this. I have thick skin and can handle all the teasing comments that may follow what I am about to write. I am just so bummed that sweet little Justin Bieber didn't win for new pop artist. Having an 8 year old daughter there was no way I was going to be getting out of taking her to his Never Say Never movie that opened on Friday. We got up and caught the early movie at 9:45 beings it wasn't in 3D. At this point let me just say after looking at posters of Justin and hearing "Baby, Baby,Baby Oh" being sung constantly for the past 6 months I was afraid I may not be able to hold the vomit down if I had to hear that song one more time and I am sure hearing it in 3D would have definitely pushed me over the edge and sprinting to the bathroom. I obviously really wasn't too thrilled about going to the movie. Patting myself on the back with such accolades of "Mother of the Year" going through my head, I put on a smile and made my daughter's day when I told her we were going. The movie was nothing what I was expecting. Let me just say I cried at least 3 times. I had no idea anything about this kid or his story. I knew YouTube and Usher were involved and that was about it. I have to say 45 minutes into it I was a gone and now have Bieber fever! He really has an inspirational story, that was very touching to watch. He is a very grateful, grounded, hard working kid, that I had no idea the lengths he had to go through to get to where he is today. It truly was an inspirational movie and definitely not what I was expecting. I even got all choked up when he performed at the Grammys next to his idol Usher. I was really hoping he would win, but he is still young and has plenty of time for a Grammy as I know we will all be seeing much more of Justin Bieber. Ok go ahead and let the teasing comments start!

Riley and I on our way out to Justin Bieber's new movie.

Sock Summit

2011-02-07T19:40:00.000-08:00

I am thrilled to announce that Hanks in the Hood will be attending the 2011 Sock Summit. I am so fortunate to not only live in Oregon, but to be picked as a vendor. I am so excited and my mind has been spinning with all the new designs I am ready to create for the Summit! What I am most excited about is to finally meet some of you in person! More details as we near the end of July. YAY SOCK SUMMIT 2011!!!!

KnitPicks Podcast

2011-02-03T14:59:00.000-08:00

Tuesday was a big day for me as I went to the KnitPicks office and recorded a podcast. It was so great to finally meet everyone I have been communicating with through email. I was a kid in a candy shop and could have stayed for hours. I was really nervous about doing the podcast, as I have never done one before. Alison made it a piece of cake and Jenny worked her magic with the editing. I figured I couldn't walk into the land of yarn and fiber without wearing something I knit. To my surprise it was my haircut that was the show stopper, not one comment on the cowl. LOL. Had a great day and am very excited to be apart of this team that is moving in a really great direction. It is important to me to say that as huge as KnitPicks is I am still one person filling the orders, with the occasional help of my husband. Regardless whether I am filling a big order for KnitPicks or Paradise Fibers or just creating one special batt for Etsy, I do it with the most positive of energy as I truly believe that becomes passed on when you spin one of my batts. This is a love and a passion of mine and regardless of who I work with that will never change. If you are interested in listening to the podcast it can easily be downloaded from Itunes or right to your computer from this link. Thanks to all my friends and family for their support. Especially my husband who I would not be where I am at today without his love and encouragement, and to my kids for never complaining that there is constantly fiber in their dinner. I can't leave without posting the picture of the cowl and the hairdo that overshadowed it!

Fun experiment for Ravelry group members.

2011-01-13T17:27:00.000-08:00

Members of Hanks in the Hood and Whorling Tides Ravelry group better take a look at a fun contest. Limited space to the first 4 memebers!

De-Stashing on Ebay

2011-01-12T13:39:00.001-08:00

Well it is a new year and new adventures which require me to go through the stash and trim it down. I have a great variety of fibers listed. Alpaca, superwash wool, handpainted merino and wool braids and of course some batts. All listings start at .99 and you can find me under the username chapinandrew I will also be adding a variety of funky batts on Etsy throughout the week. I am happy to combine shipping from both sites. Just contact me if you are bidding on an item and would like me to hold something from my Etsy shop. Happy spinning! I hope everyone is off to a great start to the New Year.

BATTS ON KNITPICKS SITE!!!!!!!!!

2010-12-22T11:26:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to announce that 8 new Hanks in the Hood colorways exclusively for KnitPicks are now available on their site. They will also be making their debut in the January catalog!

Doing the right thing is hard.

2010-11-19T07:28:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a long and frustrating day as both Tyler and I spent the entire day trying to find out our options for Cheyenne. As I mentioned in my earlier post about her during the exam the vet was not positive that she had been spayed. I did failed to mention that also during that exam the vet felt a lump in the side of her stomach that she said could just be constipation, as we don't know how long she has been out and what she had been eating. We all know what else a lump could be too. That is how Roguely died. We had no idea he had an internal tumor and it burst and he ended up dying in my arms in the car on the way to the vet. Though Roguely lived a nice, long almost 10 years that was definitely not something we wanted to get involved with again with a 7 1/2 year old dog. Let me just tell all you animal lovers out there that want to do the right thing really know what you are getting yourself involved in. I didn't. The vet recommended the few facilities for us to call and also gave us the warnings about whether they would take her or not. The Humane Society said that they would not take the dog until after 30 days because she was still a stray. That makes absolutely no sense to me what so ever because I thought that, that was what the Humane Society was there for. I wasn't about to ask any further questions because the woman on the phone was a real bitch. Excuse my language. I also called and talked to our county's animal control. Fortunately there I got a very nice woman who talked at length to me about the process. She did tell me that they will euthanize an animal for no rime or reason. Temperament, health, etc. She did tell me that age wasn't an issue so not to worry about that, beings she had a few 12 and 13 year old dogs up for adoption. The conversation did end with this kind woman saying it sounds like you are wonderful people and if there is any possible way that you could keep the dog we would greatly appreciate. She said that they were overfull, but would still take Cheyenne. I guess a lady from California had just dropped off 11 dogs that no one else was willing to take. So here we are in a situation that we don't know much about this dog. We don't have an extra $400 to find out if she is healthy or not to decided if we potentially wanted to keep her. I ended up calling the micro chip company and they wouldn't put me in contact with the man's phone number, but I did get in contact through them, with his ex-wife. I begged her to please give me his number that I just wanted to ask questions about the dog and her health. That I wasn't here to judge or attack him(though it would have been extremely difficult to keep my mouth shut). She just told me that she had been divorced from him for 6 years. So I said you must have been around Cheyenne when she was a puppy, can you tell me if she was spayed or not. She paused and said I am sorry I have no idea. She then followed up and said all I can tell you is that I have been around the dog numerous times over the years and she is the sweetest dog that you will ever come across. She then said she would try and get a hold of Don and took my number and said she would have him call me back if he wanted to. Of course no call from the infamous Don, but Tami was kind enough to call me back with a bit more information. She said that Cheyenne had never been spayed(GREAT). She kept repeating that she is a wonderful dog and kept asking me do you think you can keep her. I said listen the problem now is she isn't spayed and has a lump that we don't know what it is and we don't have the extra $400 to pay to find all this out and spay her. She gave me advice on where maybe I could try and negotiate with the vet, which I already had, but of course there was no offer of let me help with some of the cost. This is just a weird story that has a tons of holes in it. I believe that Tami really doesn't know much about the dog, but she has slipped up enough in telling me that she has been around her numerous times over the years, so there are many holes in the story. I am grateful for her willingness to continue to call and her seeming to be concerned about the fate of Cheyenne, opposed to her ex-ass. I called our vet back and let them know all that we had found out and begged for a reduced rate or a form of a payment plan. They apologized refusely and let us know that they couldn't do anything to help us. They did say if she did need to be spayed they could refer us to a place that would be quite a bit cheaper then what they would charge. The two big issues for us was, was she spayed or not and the lump. She had done her number two business and when the vet shaved her there really did look like there was a potential scar on her stomach. It was just questionable because she was pretty scratched up during her long journey. Tyler and I decided that we were willing to spend another $40 for another exam to see if the vet felt the lump and to really look and see if they could be convinced of a scar. Tyler took her in at 3:00 and to our surprise the vet who saw her the night before couldn't believe that it was the same dog. She said my goodness she is in 10x better shape then she was just 24 hours ago. She also had to throw in there "my she is very attached to you". Thanks Dr. Dourouche as I am sure my husband was just beaming as she said that. After a very thorough lengthy exam with two vets they confirmed that they were convinced that she had been spayed and it was an obvious scar. They both also confirmed that there is no sign of any lump and what she must have felt the night before was constipation. They did say she needed to be treated for fleas. So Tyler walked out with them covering the cost of the exam and a $20 bottle of flea medicine for her and his, I must reiterate his new dog. He is just thrilled and immediately went to the store to spend $50 on her for new bowls and bones. I was not thrilled as he only came home with one bone. His excuse was Sootie won't chew on a hard bone and Harley already has one. Well it still sent the wrong message but my wonderful heelers took the high road and acted kindly. Everyone is doing great and not fighting over food. Harley is still really on Cheyenne's heels, but it is slowly getting better as everyone is finding their place. The best part is my two heelers love me even more if that was possible. During the 11 years of our marriage I brought a rottweiler named Maverick into our life. Maverick was ok with Tyler, but very much so my dog. We chose to get Roguely when we found out that we were pregnant with Chapin. Roguely became the family dog and was pretty neutral, but at the end of the day he was more so my dog then Tyler's. I am the one who is at home all the time and raises these puppies and feeds them while he is at work. It doesn't mean that Tyler doesn't get tons of love from the dogs, but you all understand what I am saying. He really felt that Roguely was his special dog(and yes at times I let him think that:)), so that is why he wanted to get another Rotti. Before we knew we were going to keep Cheyenne I did tell Tyler I am so thankful regardless for this experience because as we were thinking of adopting a rotti puppy I realized that was not a smart idea with the way Harley is. Harley is two years old and has strong heeler traits. She is great with the family, but is on the defense with other dogs and very skittish with other people outside of the 4 of us. With her aggressive heeling and air nipping at Cheyenne I just knew we couldn't bring a puppy in that was going to grow up to be 130-150lbs. that could potentially be aggressive due to the bad teachings of Harley. So with this experience we knew that there was no way a Christmas puppy was happening. So welcome to our home Cheyenne! I just have to put in here though for all of you who are animal people and hurt when owners like Cheyenne's do the wrong thing, be very informed on what you are getting into before taking something like this on. Especially if you are emotional when it comes to animals like I am. If I can cry for two days over the loss of Merlot and Nikasi and weeks over Roguely, I even cried for weeks over the loss of my dad's heeler Sadie. I can guarantee you that when the day comes that my Sootie's life is over I will have to be hospitalized! I am crying right now even typing that out. You get my point. People will not help you. Vet's see this situation everyday and have become hardened and burned. As well as the animal control and the humane society. Winter and the recession has made these places flooded with animals that they just don't have room for. Regardless of what Cheyenne's outcome was going to be, we did feel good that for one night she stayed with us and was loved and had a warm bed. If she ended up still having that lump we would have taken her to our county's animal control and let their drs. access her and decide her fate, as we could not afford to pay for all the ex rays and blood work to determine if she was healthy or not. I am not trying to be pessimistic, but that day I saw that poor dog soaking wet in front of the store knowing she had been there 2 days and had almost gotten ran over twice and that snow was coming there was not a second thought for me to take her in and protect her for the night. The furthest thing from my mind was that we were going to end up with a 7 1/2 year old black lab. I am glad that it all worked out and in the end our vet was kind to us and waved the $40 exam fee, knowing we were going to keep her. I can tell you though from the hours I spent on the phone there is not much help out there or even loans to help pay for getting a dog healthy even if you are willing to take it in. It is upsetting, so as I would still do what I did on Wednesday over and over and over again, do know that you will be involved in making a lot of hard decisions and there isn't much help out there.

Before I go I must post a picture of how Cheyenne has made herself quite at home. By the way she is on Harley's bed......need I say more.

I must also let everyone know that the 3 hens have made it through a second night. We still have not trapped anything and they would not leave their hen house during the day. I do not know if that is because they are traumatized with this weeks events or if it was due to the 3 inches of snow on the ground. For now there is a bit of peace and come hell or high water I will be carding today, as I didn't yesterday! We are also so excited because we are seeing Harry Potter tonight! Chapin and I are just besides ourselves. I think Riley is a bit nervous, but Tyler will be there so if the movie proves to be too scary for her then he can take care of her. She has seen all the other ones, but never in the theater as that definitely has a different effect. Voldemort and his looks scare the crap out of her and he is in this alot from what I understand. I hope you all have a great weekend and I thank you all for the kind supporting comments as this has started off as a difficult week, had a lot of chaos, and is looking to have a happy ending. So thank you!

Oh the fun never ends for the Andersen family.

2010-11-18T05:34:00.000-08:00

Tyler worked all day long in the cold, pouring rain trying to further secure the coop. He had the girls out with him all day long, which they thoroughly enjoyed after a long day in the mudroom. He added a door to the hen house and made it completely secure. He is working on re-covering the coop with even smaller wire that will result in fencing not being any wider then a pencil all away around including the top. He felt confident that the three girls would be completely safe in their house last night, so we decided to lock them in their hen house and put the live trap at the top of the ramp that goes to the house. Around 4:30 I hear mom,mom I am hearing scratching and I think the trap closed. This is of course Riley whose bedroom window overlooks the garden and the coop. She also informs me that it has snowed. So at this point Tyler is completely annoyed, but at the off chance that Riley is correct and we caught this thing, his curiosity got him out of bed to check. Of course no varmint but thankfully 3 safe girls huddled together in their safe house! He walked the perimeter of the coop and didn't see any tracks in the snow, so we may never know what took our poor Merlot and Nikasi from us. We will continue to work on further securing the coop and keeping that trap out just in case. For the time being though we are all breathing a bit easier as we are feeling our girls are safe.

As I said the fun never ends for the Andersen family. I had a doctor's appointment in town yesterday. The news has been announcing all week that we are in for a storm and that the snow level was dropping down to 1000ft, which effects us. Beings I am a horrible mother and have not knitted anything for my poor children they were in desperate need of some warmer clothes and I did some shopping. On my way home I checked in with Tyler and asked if he needed anything. Of course after a long cold day of working in the rain I couldn't deny his request for a case of beer. The mini mart by our house is the only place that stocks Icehouse on the mountain and they do this for my husband. So I pull in and see this sweet black lab just sitting there with no leash. I notice that there are no cars in the parking lot and no one else is around. So as I am grabbing Tyler's beer I also realize no one else is in the store shopping. I am sure at this point you all know where this story is headed. I just had to open my big fat mouth and ask Bob(the store owner) who the dog belonged to. He told me she had been hanging out for 2 days and he has been posting signs everywhere and can't find who she belongs to. He continues to tell me how sweet she is and that he has been trying to feed her some treats. As he continues to ramble on over how sweet she is and that he is afraid that she just wondered off, he also tells me that she almost got hit twice as we live off of a major highway. Knowing that we were going to be getting snow over night and all that Bob shared with me I said I will be back with the truck to pick her up and give her a safe place to stay until we can find her owner. I come home bring Tyler his beer and tell him to come inside that I have to tell him something. Being a man the first thing he says is what did you do to the car. I said nothing, but you are going to kill me. I said I need you to go down to Mt. Hood Foods and pick up a black lab that has been hanging around for 2 days. I fill him in on all the details and he grabs a collar and leash and towels to dry her off. She is immediately thrilled when he put the collar on and told her to load up into the truck. Thank goodness the chickens were out of the mudroom and I had it all cleaned out and bleached, because that is where we made her bed. I put a big bowl of food and water out for her but she wouldn't eat or drink anything. I have never seen a more depressed looking dog in my life. It just broke our hearts. She allowed Tyler to rub all over her to look for any injuries or sore spots without a complaint. We found nothing but became a bit concerned that she could be pregnant. So we kept her in the mudroom and I called the vet to ask what I should do. The technician got back to me within 45 minutes and I filled her in on what we knew. She said I know you are on the mountain and we close at 5:30 but if you are willing to bring her in now we can check for a micro-chip and do an exam if you choose, which was going to cost us $40. So I immediately put her in the truck and head into Sandy. To my surprise she had a micro-chip!!! I was just thrilled and felt so good that we were going to get her back to a family that has been missing this sweet lab. After a good 15 minute wait the chipping company was able to connect the technician with a live person. The woman who answered said that the dogs name was Cheyenne and that it belonged to her ex-husband who lives in Rhododendron. The woman made it very clear that she lived in Gresham and had no interest whatsoever to come and pick the dog up, but she was kind enough to give us a number where we could reach her ex-husband. Yay! So the technician gets a hold of a man named Don and happily said a young woman from Rhododendron has found your dog Cheyenne and we have her here at the Sandy Animal clinic. The look and tone in the technicians face immediately changes. She gets off of the phone and says I am sorry but people like this piss me off. The man claims that he got rid of the dog a long time ago and has no idea who the new owners are. He continues to say that he has no desire to take care of the dog and he would not be coming to pick her up. So here I am at the clinic thinking, why do I have to have such a soft spot. The animal clinic is not set up to take dogs overnight, so for the time being she is stuck with me. I make the choice to do the exam as I have two dogs at home that I do not want to put in danger if the dog is sick, plus I was also really concerned that she was pregnant or already had babies. The vet is pretty sure she isn't pregnant, and the look of her belly looks as it does because she was probably obese and she has lost a lot of weight in a short period of time. Fortunately during the exam we found through the micro-chipping company that she was AKC registered and was 7 1/2 years old. The vet shaved a bit of her belly to see if she could find a scar in proof that she had been spayed. It did look like there was evidence of a scar, but she wasn't 100% convinced. Concluding the exam she had no fever and the vet convinced me that she had nothing that would be a threat to my other two dogs health. I was told repeatedly what a wonderful person I am for doing what I did and that they wish there were more people like me as they handed me a bill of $400 for potential things we should do to her if we decide to keep her. They also send me out the door with tons of information on options that we can try to do to take her some place. They also follow up all this information with the fact that I need to be warned that the Humane Society is so overfull of unwanted dogs and cats and the fact that she is a 7 1/2 year old dog and that there was a pretty good chance they wouldn't take her. I said if that happens what is my next option if we fail in trying to find this possible "new owner" that we all know doesn't exist. She said my next option would be to call animal control and more then likely her fate would be euthanasia. Oh F--k is what I am thinking because we are really in a difficult situation. It has been 2 years since our rottweiler Roguely passed away. The kids have been talking non-stop about how much they are missing Roguely. Then my husband starts in. I know my regular followers don't need me to explain my emotions on the subject. So the past month Tyler and I have been in contact with a very professional breeder that has puppies that are going to be available the second week in December. We are thinking that this could possibly be a fun gift for the family from Santa. Let me just say we had an appointment this past Monday to go and meet with the breeder and decided that we better not go quite yet and still really think about this. We knew that there was no way that we would be able to go to a professional breeders house and see all these rotties running around without our emotions getting involved and that we would not be able to control ourselves and commit to a puppy and leave a deposit. Knowing we had time, we decided to cancel our appointment and really think about this. And now Cheyenne shows up. So on my way home from I fill Tyler in on what the vet said. I said beings she has nothing that could threaten the health of our two heelers let's try and introduce her to our two dogs. Heelers are absolutely wonderful dogs and great with the family. They also are very territorial of their people. Having two girls already we definitely were nervous about bringing in a third older girl. I knew Sootie would handle it fine and as docile as Cheyenne had proven to be we weren't worried about her. Harley however who just turned 2 in July tends to be a bit more aggressive. At this point Cheyenne was still showing major depression. I told Tyler that I would be the one to introduce all three dogs as he tends to get very nervous and not allow the dogs to do their thing. The second I opened the door Cheyenne was in heaven. For the first time she started wagging her tail even though Harley's hair was sticking up a mile and she was barking at her. They all sniffed around and everything seemed to calm down in a few minutes. Phew. Cheyenne's depression instantly changed and was just thrilled. It is obvious that she has spent the majority of her life with a man as she has just fallen for Tyler. She follows him all around and when he went outside she would sit by the door and cry for him. So of course I have a problem on my hands. He is looking at me saying I have a soft spot for her and she just loves me. GREAT! She is very well behaved and will sit, lay, and shake on command. Sootie and Cheyenne could really care less about each other, but Harley won't leave her alone. Cheyenne could also really care less about this puppy herding and biting at her heels. She did get a bit irritated at her though after the third time Harley decided to give her a bit of a nip in her ear. Which she responded in a bark that told Harley to back off. So here we are. Just lost two chickens, had been thinking about adopting a MALE rottweiler puppy and Cheyenne shows up. We are going to continue to try and find her owner and check out the options the veterinarian recommended. As you all know there is no way Tyler and I will be willing to just hand her over to animal control and know that this sweet dog will be euthanized. It is also not very fun to think that she is an older dog who has had a bit of a rough life. If we are lucky we may get 4-5 more wonderful years out of her, but there is also the other side too that is very likely. I just can't help but to think that there are no accidents and the Universe sometimes sends messages and puts things into motion that we just shouldn't even questions. With that being said, what is meant to be will be and I will continue to keep you all posted. I am so relieved that we have secured the 3 hens that we have and the rest will just fall into place the way it is supposed to.

I do know that this is supposed to be a knitting and fiber blog and my last few posts have been dominated so much by animal drama. The only thing I can report on the knitting front was I wore my bobbled scarf out yesterday and felt fabulous as a few compliments came my way. I plan on locking myself into my studio and spending the day carding, but at this point who knows what the day has in order for me:)

3 safe chickens, but no weasel.

2010-11-17T07:23:00.000-08:00

After setting two live traps out last night hoping to catch whatever is attacking our girls, we had no such luck. This guy is no dumby obviously. Without the smell of the chickens in their coop he knew not to even bother. This is scary, because now what? Obviously the 3 girls can not live in the mudroom. I think what we are going to try tonight is to have Tyler make a door on the hen house so we lock them in their house at night. While Tyler is out working on the house the chickens can be with him as they will be safe. That will then get their sent back out there. We will then keep them inside until it is time for them to go to bed and then lock them in their house and set the trap. This still makes me nervous, but we need to know what we are dealing with. Let's hope that this evening goes a bit better. I slept with half an ear open hoping to hear something, but no such luck.

In response to the 3 comments

2010-11-16T14:17:00.000-08:00

Blogger would not allow me to post this as a comment. I guess it was too lenghty, so here is a follow up post to your responses from the one I did earlier today. Once again thank you for all your kind support and information. As far as securing the fence down below we actually have a rock wall with huge boulders that go around our 8ft fence. Of course that may not be enough. Tyler also did dig down to put some wire. We are not seeing any evidence what so ever of tunnels or digging. It is definitely a sneaky small animal that can squirm it's way through a small spot. I think the mistake that we have made is that we purchased heavy duty wire and not small chicken wire. We were thinking in the thoughts of bears, racoons, big cats, etc. A weasel type animal never crossed our mind. Even some of the bigger rats up here could not get through the fencing. Tyler has went to Home Depot and bought super tiny chicken wire that he will be reinforcing around the cage. However with that being said he also bought a live trap. I was not aware that there were traps out there that didn't kill the animal, but at this point I must say death to this guy is starting to sound pretty good. I can't believe I just said that. The 3 girls will be sleeping inside with us tonight nice and safe. I told Tyler to not do a thing to the coop tonight and lets put that trap out and see if we can actually catch what has done this to our chickens. We are thinking along the same line as Cutzi as far as a minx or some weasel type creature. My father(who does not live in our area) actually trapped a minx and let me tell you they are absolutely viscous and scary. It hissed and showed its teeth constantly. I am pretty sure that is what kind of animal has gotten our girls. Cutzi as far as the dogs are concerned they do sleep inside and on the bed. Let me just say if I can cry for two days over my chicken....well I don't think I have to say anymore:). We do have 2 blue heelers that would definitely give a good fight, but I am not willing to risk injury to them, not to mention these filthy animals and potential diseases that they can carry. I will definitely be posting tomorrow as to what happens tonight. But rest assured the 3 girls are safe this evening. Once again thank you for all your support and information. Send thoughts of us catching this guy tonight!

Another devastating morning

2010-11-16T09:04:00.000-08:00

Tyler and I woke up while it was still dark at 6am to try and see what got Merlot yesterday early morning. Unfortunately this time we were too late. After spending the entire day securing the coop even further this weasel or whatever it is, is still able to slither its way through to get to them. This time he actually climbed into the hen house as they were sleeping and grabbed Nikasi. He pulled her out of the house and into the coop and did the same thing to her as he did to Merlot. The most devastating part for me this morning was to find little Gin outside of her hen house frightened and perched on the rocks that we have surrounding the fence. I know many people think chickens are dumb and don't have feelings, but they do. Granted they may not be the smartest animals, but she was definitely scared and the three that are left are tramatized. I have since moved Gin, Tonic, and Whiskey inside our mud room and have made them as comfortable as possible. We moved their perch in there as well and they are all huddled together. I have given them one of their favorite treats, bananas, and they just won't eat. I keep going in there and talking to them(yes I am crazy) to try and make them feel a bit better. We have called a few fellow friends on the mountain who also have chickens but do not have this problem. We do live up further in elevation and a bit more of a remote area then our other friends. We may end up giving the three to some friends if they have a safer environment, as we do not want to lose another chicken. There coop is locked but we never put a locking door on the hen house, allowing them to go to bed and wake up when they want. We now know that we need to have them locked in their hen house as this weasel comes during the night or early morning as they are starting to get up. This has been a huge devastating learning experience for us.
We are also learning that during this time of year owls are also a threat, so the roaming of the garden is going to have to stop until the winter is over. They have a huge coop that is fully enclosed, so even though they don't have free range of the entire garden there is still plenty of space for them. Tyler is on his way to get some more supplies to further protect them. For now they will stay in the mud room safe from this predator until we can provide a safer environment or make the decision to pass them on to someone else who can better protect them during this time of year. We are definitely not giving up on having chickens, but with the winter fast approaching, we may have to wait again until spring to try this again. This also posts concerns for me with getting my sheep in the spring. The sheep will be completely protected by the bigger predators: bears, coyotes, cats, etc. but can a weasel type predator dare to hurt or kill a 130lb sheep? If anyone has any thoughts on this or further advice on how we can better protect our chickens during this time of year I would love to hear it. Thank you for all the supporting comments. I thought that with all the bad news at least these two pictures of the three that our left in our mudroom may add a bit of a smile.

Sad day for the Andersen family

2010-11-15T18:50:00.000-08:00

It is hard for me to write that my special chicken Merlot was killed this morning. As those of you who have been following my blog you know that Tyler built a fortress that we felt was dang near impossible for anything to get in. Those of you who have also been following me know I am an absolute animal lover, even for our chickens. Never having owned chickens before they amazed me how social they are. They do everything together. When it is time for bed they all go inside there special house and huddle together on a perch. There coop is huge and completely enclosed. We have been letting them out into the garden to run roam around now that the garden isn't in bloom. I am usually home so there have been no problems, but they are always locked safely into their coop come the evening. This morning Riley went out to feed them their morning special treat and to let them out for the day and discovered that Merlot was dead. Thankfully Riley didn't see much. She was laying down but her back was to the gate. I am also thankful to say that Tyler is taking this week off. He has built up his vacation time and it is use it or lose it, so as the end of the year is approaching he is definitely using it. Today has been horrible for me and I am just so glad that he was here to take care of her and try to make the coop even safer. We are thinking some kind of weasel got her. It was something very small that dug in just the right spot. It didn't drag her off but feathers were everywhere as she gave up a good fight, but it ate up her carcass. I know it sounds crazy but out of all 5 of the chickens we had she was really my special friend. I have not eaten chicken since we got ours realizing what amazing animals they are. When Tyler was gone in Europe for work it happened to fall on my birthday and my friend Rhana had arranged for the kids to bring me a cake and sing happy birthday. Merlot kept finding a way out to join the party so I brought her in the house while they sang happy birthday to me and she was happy as she could be. I know I know you probably all think I am crazy. She just made my day. She was the first one at the gate to greet me and allow me to pet her. So a very difficult day for us. Tyler has done all he possibly can to make sure that this doesn't happen to the other 4 that we have left. I believe that this happened in the morning as the chickens were waking up, as they were tucked safe in bed last night when Tyler checked on them. I am sure the thing that got her is going to be back, so I will be up early armed with rocks to throw at it. Even though I hate this thing that did this to Merlot, I still just couldn't feel good about killing an animal. So needless to say I am very upset and today was not a good day. The people that I do know who read and follow my blog I know will be sympathetic and not post anything negative. I please request that those of you out there that I don't know are reading my blog and have strong opinions about whether we are stupid for trying to have chickens in the woods and what do we expect or ways to trap and kill the animal that did this, I ask that you please don't post those kind of comments. I don't expect that to happen, but when you put yourself out there in the blogging community one never knows who is going to come across your post, so I am just asking that you respect my feelings. Thank you. Merlot you will definitely be missed.

Bring on the cold.....I am armed with BOBBLES!

2010-11-11T11:13:00.000-08:00

The holiday edition of Vogue showed up in the mail box and I immediately fell in love with Tom Scott's bobbled scarf. He and Wenlan Chia(Twinkle) are a few of my favorite designers as they go towards the chunky yarns that Jen oh so loves. I had been spinning some romney that I had planned on using for a sweater. I just couldn't get the right gauge and wasn't happy with how it was turning out, so it worked perfectly for the scarf project. I must say that it has been quite some time that I have knit something for myself. On top of that the knitting that I have been doing I have been designing as well, so it has been quite some time since I had followed a pattern. You can only imagine how excited I was to see in next to the scarf very easy, very vogue! Great right up my alley. I had to end up using two strands of my handspun held together as somewhere along the way I have become this thinner spinner........it is driving me crazy. Anyway without giving the pattern away it starts off very simply by doing a rib for 40in or so. Then we get to the bobble rows. Now as being one who has done bobbles before, not to mention the very easy very vogue quote next to the scarf I was not intimidated what so ever and went about knitting my bobble row. Well that didn't come out right. I was short my original stitches. So I thought Oh that is what I did wrong, re-worked it and still was missing stitches. I continue this process for a good 2 hours and I am now convinced that of course Vogue has made a printing error. So I start searching Ravelry and no one has done the scarf yet as the magazine just came out. I search the Vogue site and nothing was on there either as once again the magazine just came out. I end up trying to figure this mistake out and fail and finally give up at 11pm. Obsessed with what I was doing wrong, thank god I could make a call to Pennsylvania and get it all figured out. Mind you my friend Lisa(peacecat30) has no experience with bobbles and has never knit one before in her life. As I ramble on to her about what I am doing she finally says send me the bobble directions. 5 minutes later I have a response. The great clarity came from a simple comma and a smart Lisa that even though she has never knit a bobble in her life knew that you have to start out with the same number of sts that you end with in the bobble. She blames knowing this little fact from all the podcasts she listens too. I just think it is that she is simply a knitting goddess. So I felt like quite the dumbass, but in the same respect never would have gotten it without her. So in response to Vogue's very easy very Vogue, I must say yes they are correct as long as one can follow a pattern correctly and now the importance of a comma. Once again without giving away the pattern in the first row of the making a bobble instructions let me give a bit of clarity to anyone else who may be having a bit of a dumbass moment! When it says knit into the next st yo 2x k1 turn. That really means you knit into the stitch and do not pull it off the needle yarn over knit into it again without pulling it off the needle yarn over and then knit into the stitch and finally pull it off creating a total of 5 sts. That is what I wasn't getting. The rest is very easy very Vogue and the end product is very fabulous if I must add. I will say this much though, I altered the pattern quite a bit. There are rows and rows and rows of bobbles that go on for ever. I ended up cutting out about 5 of those rows and am still armed with numerous bobbles and feeling oh so Vogue!
On a side note for any of you that have been following the hair. I originally dyed it hot pink and purple in the spirit of Flock and Fiber. Well I had such a positive response to it and had so much fun with it I kept it around until just a couple of days ago when I decided to mix it up with the teal blue. I figure I have to take advantage of the kid's age now....so far I am cool, but I have a stinking suspicion that I am knocking on Chapin's door to where he is ready to call up Oprah and say can my mom be on the show "My mother is ruining my life and needs to act her age". It was funny, because I helped in his classroom the other day. He is really into skulls right now and I have a pretty cool skull sweatshirt and some boots that he just digs. So I was all decked out thinking he'd think it was cool. Not so much the case. Sweet little Cole Hoecker and Aidin Laveck were tickled to see me with big waves and smiles. The rest of the class just looked at me in aww. Chapin gave me a serious hey nod. I am thinking oh s--t I have pushed it here. So I discreetly head over to his desk and say "Dude what's up I am wearing your favorite boots and sweatshirt, I thought you'd be happy to see me" He kind of looks down and says yeah thanks for coming I won the homework award. I am still thinking oh s--t, I have pushed it. I will also throw in here that we do live in a smaller community with shall I say a lot of people who hunt, definitely not being judgemental but hope you are following me here, and yes a mom who has pink and purple hair and drives a mustang with white stripes sticks out quite a bit. So I mill around for about 45 minutes as kid after kid comes up to me and says how cool my hair is. By the time Chapin got home he was flying high, because everyone thought his mom was cool. PHEW! I still have some time to have my funk without completely humiliating my children.

Of course Harley had to be in a picture too!

Carder Heaven

2010-11-10T05:43:00.000-08:00

My naughty fiber friend Carla has a sickness not only the same one I have with fiber, but Craigslist. She checks it every day for anything fibery including all equipment to play with our fiber. So when she finds a good find she politely sends it my way. Well last Thursday I get a friendly little email from Craigslist letting me know that my friend Carla would like to share a link with me. I click on it and read Pat Green carder $990 Brightwood. Let me just explain before I go any further...I live in Rhododendron 3 miles down the road is Welches(our big main town) another 4 miles from Welches is Brightwood. So my first though is who is this spinning person that lives so close to me in Brightwood that I don't know about. Now I need a new carder like how I need more fiber. My electric Duncan does everything I need it to do and I am happy with what I have and not knowing what else is out there is just fine with me. Well curiosity was killing me so of course I had to call this woman and go over and meet her. We had a few conversations on the phone and I quickly found out that she has been out of the fiber loop for awhile. She told me that she had been retired for 3 years and that her husband has Parkinsons and she just isn't using the carder and it is taking up too much space. I have also never driven a Pat Green before so between my curiosity about this fiber woman who lived so close to me and her fabulous carder I had to head over. We set up to meet on Friday. Now let me just say once again I have no business what so ever looking at an almost $1000 carder. I was a bit nervous that I was going to drive this Green and find that it put my Duncan to shame and then I would be in a pickle. I could tell from the picture that she posted that it was a two drum carder so I assumed it was the Fancicard. Which retails for $1550. I told Tyler that I was going to go over there and just make some contact with her as I may be needing a second carder in the not so distant future. I also discussed with Tyler that I was going to take a check with me and I promised I wouldn't spend more then $500. Knowing what these carders retail for I figured one of two things...for her to sell this to me at that price she would have to just fall in love with me because she felt my passion for what I do, or that I would just end up chickening out and just not make such a low ball offer. Well I met Mary Jayne last Friday night. She takes me up the stairs and as I turn the corner I see the most massive unbelievably impressive carder I have ever seen in my life.
I have never come across a Pat Green carder that looked like that before. Tyler has obsessively been researching carders since I purchased my Duncan 4 years ago, because he would like to make me one. Pat Green used to sell a huge 4 drum carder I believe called the Elsa card. I had called on it at one point to see how much it was and I was told it was 20k and a 6 month waiting list. That was the end of that conversation. According to his site he no longer makes that carder and is just sticking to the smaller hand and electric carders. So Mary Jayne and I chatted for about 2 hours. I brought her some of my batts and explained to her what I did and that I just got my first order through KnitPicks. She had no idea what KnitPicks was so of course I was armed with my magazine to show her what a big deal it was that I was going to be apart of them. I learned that Mary Jayne moved to Brightwood about 20 years ago. Her husband was diagnosed with Parkinsons 22 years ago. She used to live in Damascus(which is about 40 minutes from us) on a farm to where she had 150 sheep and 22 spinning wheels!!!! Yes you heard me correctly 22 spinning wheels. She had a wide variety of sheep and of course they all had names and she knew who each one was. She also never raised them for meat, just strictly fiber! Let me just say here that she is my idol! She then proceeds to tell me that they had a fire and she lost all her wheels and carder. I almost started to cry. Can you imagine? How devastating! She told me the one wheel that really killed her to loose was her Lendrum, which is what I have. Well they moved up to the mountain about 20 years ago. She sold off all her sheep to fiber people who would still keep in touch with her and let her know how they were. This was some time in the late 80s to early 90s. Her husband said why don't you get yourself another wheel. So she treated herself to the most beautiful custom made wheel out of teak. She even let me try it out! She also has a huge beautiful floor loom that she too would like to sell. She thought she would maybe get into it a bit more after she retired but she has realized that she just doesn't enjoy weaving. She now spins and does the original form of latch hooking. It isn't the fuddy duddy stuff that I remember my mother doing on a big wooden frame with acrylic yarn to make a funny huge rug. This almost looks like embroidery, but made with thicker yarns. She works on a small frame and the backing is made of linen. It is absolutely amazing and yet another fibery thing that I will have to look into. So as I am trying this carder out of course I am in heaven. I start laughing and let her know that I was expecting the fancicard. I said I am so embarassed to even say this, but I actually was contemplating on offering you $500. I told her that I was definitely interested in the carder and wanted to keep in touch with her, but I needed to wait until after the January catalog comes out and I see how my batts go with KP. She then looked at me and said what if you give me the $500 and then we work out payments for the rest. I thanked her for that option, but said I would still like to wait until January because if my batts don't sell that well I would have no business buying the carder. I told her that we would definitely keep in touch and that if that carder is meant to be it will still be availble for me when I know more come January. She then says hold on I need to go talk to my husband. My heart starts racing! She comes back and says what about $600. I couldn't believe it. I said Mary Jayne are you sure. I said I was not expecting this size of carder and I am willing to pay the price you are asking if you would like to wait. She said I would much rather sell it to someone as passionate about your hobby for this price then to someone else. She also summed up that she needed a new kitchen. So I called Tyler to have him come and check it out and he too couldn't believe it. We both fought with her about the price and said are you sure about this, and she was. The carder is so big and heavy there was no way Tyler and I were getting it out of there. So the next day a friend of ours helped Tyler carry it out of her house and into ours. It is an absolutely amazing piece of equipment. It is over 20 years old and still works like it is brand new. My husband said that there is nothing that could go wrong with the carder that he couldn't fix. Mary Jayne actually drove up to Canada and stayed with the Greens when she bought the carder. So there is a lot of history to the machine, which I just love. I am still getting the hang of it, but let me just say so far I can easily make a 12oz. batt with no problems. It is an amazing piece of equipment. I still had no business spending $600 and have cursed Carla and told her that she is no longer allowed to send me Craigslists links! In the end both Tyler and I really believe that it was meant to be. Not to get off on a tangent but the Universe was definitely taking care of me. Having her live right down the road and feeling good about selling it to me at the price she did there were definite forces working for me. I will say I did have a moment of anxiety when they brought it into my studio, feeling guilty for spending the money when we have so many medical bills we are working on not to mention the remodel we started this summer. But let me just say that moment of anxiety and buyers remorse quickly ended as I turned the machine on and started playing with it. Carla came over and we both got it all figured out. Thanks to my naughty little Carla!

Having a bad day?..........just go GaGa

2010-11-04T08:27:00.000-07:00

Let me just tell you, Lady Gaga cures everything!!!!!! I never had so much fun with a Halloween costume. Our small party was a hit and it was great to have all of our good friends at our house at once. I ended up doing 3 costume changes. My husband was really leery of one of them, so in his respect I wore it for a very short time and by chance my camera didn't catch a picture of me in it.....though I know some of them are floating around. LOL. So when you see me casually grocery shopping or wondering around town in my Gaga outfits, just know that the morning started off a bit rough, but I am now feeling much better. Oh and by the way for those of you who haven't followed my blog for very long and are having a hard time figuring out who Tyler is......He is my Rock of Love, Bret Michaels!!!! I hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween.

Sweet Lincolns

2010-10-29T05:59:00.000-07:00

I just couldn't help but share these pictures I received this morning. I met a wonderful lady named Christiane at Flock and Fiber. She raises Lincoln's. I have known for the past few years that sheep were inevitable for us. My husband has been working on the barn and preparing a fortress around the yard to keep potential predators out. So the time has finally come that we will be ready for some lambs this spring. I have gone back and forth on what kind of sheep to get. I had always leaned towards Romneys as I love spinning their wool. I also love the look of Jacobs. A huge factor for me though is I really want to have a relationship with my sheep. They won't only provide me with wonderful sweaters, but also want them to be loving pets. I even get love from my chickens as funny as that sounds. Well anyways after meeting Christiane and some of her Lincoln's I was immediately in love with the breed and knew that was the sheep for me. She had two bucks the were so curious and came right up to Carla and I. They had no problem letting us pet them and I felt they probably would have allowed me to give them a hug around their neck and basically treat them like I do my dogs. So I definitely will wait to be able to get my Lincoln's from Christiane's flock.

On the weather front, we haven't quite had our first frost yet. It is getting close though. It has been dumping on the mountain and they are actually opening a few runs today. This is the earliest opening season in a long time. As tempting as it is for me to strap on the skis and head up there, I will still wait until there is more of a base. No need to get hurt and thrash on my skis.

Another couple of fun news to announce. I received my first order from KnitPicks. Very exciting!! They will be carrying a new line of 8 different batts. These will make their debut in the January catalog. I am beyond excited, not to mention the people that work for KnitPicks are wonderful. I have really enjoyed working with them. The great thing for me too is that the majority of them live in the Portland or Vancouver area, which is about 45 minutes from my house. So I am looking forward to meeting them all in person. I have one other opportunity that has been presented to me. A friend of mine, who also does hair, has been running her salon out of her house. She has decided to expand and recently bought an established salon/spa here on the mountain. She has offered a space to me that I will lease from her and sell my apparel, one of a kind batts, and handspun yarn. I am so excited about this even though it sounds a bit funny having handknit goods and a bit of yarn in a hair salon. After doing Flock and Fiber and going to LA and helping out at Church I have realized that I do need to get out of the house a bit. With my children's health issues it doesn't allow me to have a full time job, especially off the mountain. This will allow me to come and go as I please and be able to be avaialable to my kids when they need me, which is my number one priority. I will be able to help out by answering the phones and taking appointments as I am spinning, knitting, and designing. I am so thankful to her for this opportunity and am really optimistc that it will work out. So lots on my plate, but all very exciting.

We are having a small Halloween party on Saturday that I am really excited about due to my costume. So be sure to check back next week as I promise to be posting pictures. Happy Halloween to everyone and have a great weekend. Jen

Even more pictures

2010-10-14T11:50:00.001-07:00

More Church Pictures

2010-10-14T11:47:00.001-07:00

My kind of Church

2010-10-14T11:02:00.001-07:00

I had a fabulous time in LA and made it home safely to the chaos of being gone. As wonderful of a job Tyler did, let me just say there were a ton of praises sent to the stay at home mom upon her return, including 5 loads of laundry. Tyler got of safely and continues flying all over Europe. We have not been able to talk much. There is no internet in the hotels and the internet that you can use at the airport is extremely expensive. So he is limited to internet when he is actually at an Intel plant. So not a lot of communication between the two of us. We were able to get caught up a bit this morning as he was waiting in the Barcelona airport to fly to Nice. He will be there until Sunday. He is really struggling with sleeping and it all being so foreign and the fact that he is alone. Can't say I have a lot of sympathy for him though as he will be spending his weekend in the French Riviera. Poor guy right? He is definitely homesick and isn't even half way through his trip, so I do feel bad as we are all homesick for him as well.

Church was absolutely amazing. I worked my butt off for 3 days. It has been a long time since I have gone to work and did an 8 hour shift. It was so good for me though and just what I needed. I am so impressed with the store. It was beyond anything I was imagining. I think you could go in the 100 times and still not see everything. I was hoping beyond all hope that maybe Vince Vaughn, anyone of the Entourage boys, or my Bret Michaels would show up, but no such luck. I swear I heard his motorcycle go by a few times though! Priscilla Presley and her son came in a few times. She actually took one of my cowls home to try out to see if she would like to buy it, so that was very exciting. She is very petite, pretty, and quiet. The most exciting part for me(other then spending time with my best friends) was meeting all the designers that came in. Some are so eccentric and others were just your normal looking person in jeans and a flannel. I definitely learned a lot and my head is spinning with all sorts of creative thoughts. I still don't know what is going to happen with the blankets. I left the samples, so we shall see.

Now for the fun pictures. The store is completely surrounded by fig. It is crazy. You would have to know about the store otherwise you would have no idea what was in this crazy fig covered building. David is the shorter one with the dark hair and beard. He is my best friend that I have known for over 16 years. Rodney is the taller really short haired one that I met 13 years ago when I lived in LA. We had lost touch for ten years as I was starting my family. I am glad to have him back in my life. The funny pictures in front of the palm tree were for my daughter Riley. Both her and Chapin had two requests of me during my trip. Chapin made me promise that I would not go to Legoland. I easily kept that promise. All Riley wanted was a picture of a palm tree, also easily accomplished. Check out the fabulous shoes that I am wearing in the picture..........they were my birthday gift.

Well for some reason I am not able to load the pictures. I will definitely get them posted when I figure out what is going on with Blogger. Sorry.

LALA Land here I come

2010-10-03T08:50:00.001-07:00

I will be out of town all next week as I am heading to Los Angeles!!!!!!!! I am so excited! I will finally see Church and all its glory. The last time I was in Los Angeles they were still looking for a space, so it will be so exciting to see the shop all set up. This will be a business trip, but of course sprinkled with all kinds of fun! I get to work in the store because one of their employees is gone. I am dying to have them dress me up in all those fancy clothes. I will be a princess for those few days. Of course I will be knitting as well. As long as they don't steal my needles upon boarding the plane. I am not the best flyer as I don't do it very often. This will be the second time I have been on a plane in 11 years. Nothing a few cocktails can't cure though. I am also working on a potential big project for the Smith's. I will be meeting with one of their assistants to discuss cashmere blankets, colors, and sizes. I personally think that I should be meeting with Will and Jada at their home, so I can get a true feel for the theater room that they are wanting the blankets for, but that's not happening! On some good news the cashmere duster that I wrote about a few posts ago sold the day they got it, so I will be working on another one of those! I also have been working with Alison of KnitPicks on a huge project for Hanks in the Hood that is due to come out this winter. More details later. The universe is definitely providing a lot of goodness amongst some major chaos right now! I definitely won't question any of it, but be thankful for it all! The Etsy store will be down once again next week, but back up the week of the 10th. Unfortunately as soon as I get back Tyler is leaving. He is headed for a huge European trip for work. I am oozing with jealousy as he will be visiting Intel locations in such fabulous places as Spain, France, Amsterdam, and the most painful for me Dublin. That is just a few. He will be in 12 different locations in all and gone for 2 weeks. So I will get back and the next day he will be leaving. During the 3 weeks we will be missing each of our birthdays and our 11th anniversary. Definitely worth it though as for Tyler this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and as for the stay at home mom who knits and spins in the mountains...........need I say more! Be back in a week with tons of pictures!

Flock and Fiber...........what a blast!!!!!!!!!

2010-09-30T04:42:00.000-07:00

We had the best time at Flock and Fiber. Crazy weather, lots of color and best of all met some great new friends. The first day of the show it was in the 80s. People were everywhere and it was packed. I hate to even say this but I have to....it was almost a little too hot. Then we come to Sunday and the rain came, at time monsoon rain came! First time in 7 years that it has rained at OFFF. We all made the best of it and still had a great day. We had a few dry patches throughout the afternoon and surprisingly my sales were better on the rainy day then they were Saturday. There must be something about the rain and spinning/knitting and its coziness that makes seem buying fiber and yarn so inviting. Either that or everyone felt sorry for us! Of course it wouldn't be OFFF if I didn't catch my kids typical back to school cold. It sounds like I wasn't the only one. Oh the joys of getting back to school. Now that all the whining is over here is the good stuff......

CraftyPuppyLover and BohoKnitterChic shared a booth. I was so excited to meet Carrie as she was someone I met earlier on in my Etsy days and was the inspiration for the Paradise Fibers batt, Puppy Love. Definitely check the two of them out on Ravelry if you haven't already. They both have great fun groups!

I also finally got to meet some of my other mountain neighbors! Deb Accuardi of Pico Accuardi dye works, Yvonne Ellensworth, of Lavendersheep, and Chrissy Gardiner of Gardiner Yarn Works. I feel so fortunate to finally have met the great talent that has been sitting in my back yard!

A big highlight of the show for me was getting to meet Alison Backus! We have been emailing back and forth for a future project, so it was nice to finally be able to put a face to the friendly person behind the emails! Another breath of fresh air that just brightened my day each time they stopped by the booth was Mary Scott Huff and Carson Demers. They were both just full of life and brightened my mood each time I ran into them. Come to find out Mary is a knitwear designer and has a book. Sock Summit fans will be able to take a class in the 2011 Summit from Carson!

I am sure I have failed to mention many of the wonderful people I met throughout the weekend. A special thanks to Jill Laski of Ashland Bay for stopping by and saying hello, and most importantly to my dear friend Carla. Who put up with me and all my chatting. She was fortunate I had a cold, otherwise it would have been ten times worse!

Now for some fun stuff. I took my camera along with me but unfortunately the only pictures I took were of some Lincoln sheep that I must have in my backyard someday. Fortunately I was able to steal some pictures from Carrie and Carla.

Of course I couldn't leave OFFF empty handed. Some sock yarn and fancy short circs that will allow me to knit socks without doing magic loop!!!!!!!! Yep you heard me right.....amazing. A fabulous felted bag and of course raw fleece. A 5lb Lincoln and about 7lbs of a mohair/angora cross. Beings this post is full of photos I will be sure to attach all my good finds on my next post. Thanks again to everyone who stopped by. We had a wonderful time and can't wait until next year!!!!!!!!!!!!

YAY I'm knitting!!!!!!

2010-08-30T12:02:00.001-07:00

All this whining about how I haven't touched my needles was all I needed to get me back into the groove. I was in heaven this weekend as the happily knit away while listening to that ever so sweet click of my needles! I finished a duster that I had started in the spring for Church. It had sat staring at me for months. Patiently waiting for me to add some arms and a collar. Well the wait is definitely over as I finished it up this weekend. It was handspun in a cashmere/silk blend. Super soft and cozy. Definitely hard to let go of this one, especially as it has been feeling like fall here on the mountain!

Productive weekend.

2010-08-23T07:47:00.000-07:00

We are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with this remodel. I am happy to say that the tub is out of the living room and sitting in my bathroom. We finished the tiling, painting and trim work. We still need to install the medicine cabinet as well as the plumber needs to come and set up the sink, toilet, and tub. We still have quite a bit of work to do with the walk in closet and adding some cabinets, but at least our house is starting to get back to normal and I can see what the bathroom will be looking like. What a long 2 months this has been. The hard part for me has been the mess. This was not a project that you can just shut the door on and leave it all in the bathroom. We were forced to take on so much at once because of the damage, so it has been absolute chaos since the end of June. Summer is closing in on us and the kids will be starting back to school in 2 weeks. Unfortunately we didn't get to go on our annual camping trip, as we decided to use that time to continue to work on the bathroom. I just wouldn't have been able to relax knowing that we were coming home to a huge mess. Luckily it wasn't all work for the kids. They did get to spend their annual week at Grammie and Grandpapa's house. Summer has just gone by way too fast. I am looking forward to getting back on a routine and the change in seasons! There is nothing like the click of the needles on a clear crisp fall day. Oh knitting how I have missed you. I will be back soon.

My new toy!!!!

2010-08-19T08:05:00.001-07:00

We may be under construction, but I have still managed to have some fun with my new screen printing machine. I am currently working on some more knitting, spinning, fiber, and yarn themed shirts. I have one logo available for sale in my Etsy shop. If you are interested in a different size or colorway then what I have listed be sure to convo me.

Summer Silence

2010-08-18T08:47:00.000-07:00

Well one can obviously assume that the remodel is still underway beings I haven't posted anything since the beginning of July! We are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel though. We should be completely finished by the end of August. I am in my new studio upstairs and absolutely loving it. We moved Riley downstairs into my old studio and she is thrilled too. A much bigger room for her. I did take a loss in size for my studio but the way we set up my new one I am much more organized and I have all my fiber is out. My old studio had a big walk in closet so I ended up just shoving a lot of fiber in there and not really remembering I had it. Yes I do have a hoarding problem with my fiber! The other great thing about this new space is I have a sliding glass door to our huge carport/deck. It also gives me a private entrance to the studio so if in the future I would like to have a few sales, people could easily come to shop and not have to go through the main part of the house. All and all very thrilled with my new space and will be posting pictures soon.

Some other great news came through a couple of weeks ago as I found out that I will be apart of this years Flock and Fiber festival. I am so excited. I did the festival three years ago as a vendor and I am definitely ready to do it again. I have roped my friend Carla into doing it with me, so I will have some great company while we sit in fiber heaven. We both have been busy at the dye pot and will be armed with tons of braids for the show.

Not much to talk about on the knitting front. I am a bit ashamed to say that with the remodel I haven't touched my needles either. It seems that if I have some time to myself I have either been playing with fiber or reading. With the long gloomy winter/spring we had I am soaking up the gorgeous sun as much as I can. With fall looming around the corner and the threat of bad weather again, I have definitely been taking advantage of these nice days. So the needles have been replaced with sun and books the past couple of months. I recently finished The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo series and absolutely loved it. I must admit the first book was difficult for me to get through. I was almost even tempted halfway through the book to stop reading it. By the end of the first book I still wasn't just hooked. I really contemplated not continuing in the series. I was enthralled with one of the main characters Lisbeth and decided to keep reading. Boy am I glad that I did. Great series! I will anxiously be awaiting the movies. I then read a book called Think of a Number by the new author John Verdon. Kindle had recommended it as I usually like to read murder/mystery type books. It was also only $3.99 so I decided to try it and did really enjoy it. I am now onto the Hunger Games trilogy that was recommended by my sister who is a high school english teacher. It is a young adult book that takes place in post apocalyptic times. The first book is pretty much about how two teenagers from each district have to fight to the death. Sounds pretty crazy and morbid, but is definitely keeping my attention so far. I just started the second book and the third is set to come out within the next week. Just in time for me to finish all three before Jonathan Franzen's first book in nine years comes out, which I am anxiously awaiting. So as you can see quite the book worm this summer. I am definitely looking forward to the click of the needles and the hum of my wheel when the weather turns and the kids are back in school and this remodel is finished.

I hope everyone has been enjoying their summer. I will be posting some pictures of our big summer project soon.

SALE!

2010-07-01T11:37:00.000-07:00

With this bathroom remodel being more involved then expected, I need to sell some fiber! I am offering a stock up and save sale at my etsy shop. For $50 choose any 5 batts or rovings of your choice. For $100 you can choose and 12 batts or rovings! I am not leaving the non-spinners out.... Choose any 5 handspun skeins of your choice for $100! Visit my etsy shop for more details. Quantites are limited. This is an open discount and isn't limited to group members. Also this discount isn't included with any other HITH's discounts. Thank you and happy shopping!

A Bathroom Mess

2010-06-29T06:32:00.000-07:00

The kids and I had a great time visiting with my folks and seeing my grandma and great aunt's this last week. It was very relaxing and I got plenty of knitting time in on my Featherweight Cardigan The kids and I spent one day out at Birch Bay. We all had tons of fun throwing rocks, looking for crabs and of course knitting!

All of the fun has since ended once we got back home. We have a two story house with two bathrooms. Our upstairs bathroom started to get a hole in the floor due to dry rot. It has gotten really bad this past year. My dad and husband had figured that the problem was being caused by the dryer vent and that it would be an easy fairly cheap fix. This was definitely a project that needed to be done during the summer when the weather was nice. We put it off last summer because Tyler was busy building our carport with the deck on top. This last weekend the weather has finally turned here and Oregon and it actually is feeling like summer has started, so with that Tyler decided to tear into the bathroom. Once again thinking that it would be a quick easy project that we could just fix. Boy did we have an unpleasant surprise when we tore into it. The damage was 10x worse then we could have imagined. The damage also was not coming from the dryer vent as originally thought. The house was built in 1974 and according to our neighbors it was a complete dump! It was remodeled the year before we bought it. The problem with the bathroom was a problem prior to us buying the house. The person who remodeled it basically patched up a problem but didn't fix it properly. Water was getting in through the outside and rotting the wood. Not only was there damage to the upstairs bathroom, but it has extended to the downstairs bathroom as well as the the two bedrooms that shared the bathroom wall. So one huge mess. Fortunately I have a husband who is handy and can fix this. I can't imagine the astronomical cost it would be if we had to hire someone else to fix it. We have moved Riley out of her room and into Chapin's. Luckily the kids are at an age that they think it is cool and fun to be sharing a room. I have been using the downstairs bedroom as my yarn studio. With this mess we are going to convert Riley's old room into my new studio and let her have the downstairs bedroom. She is thrilled because it has a nice walk in closet and lots of storage. I am also thrilled because I will be able to have a super organized studio! Huge mess but it will definitely feel good to have it all done!

I'm heading out!

2010-06-20T14:35:00.000-07:00

The kids and I will be heading up north for a short trip to visit family. We will be gone Monday the 21st- Wednesday the 23rd. Any purchases made during those times will be shipped on Thursday the 24th. Thank you for your patience. Of course I will be available on Ravelry, Facebook, and email during those times. Have a good week, Jen

It's a major milestone!

2010-06-18T16:55:00.000-07:00

I have divided for the sleeves! You have heard me right. I have made it to the sleeves on my cardigan knit of sock yarn. This is where I am going to need a cheering section as I enter into miles of st st. My gauge has been all over the place with this sweater. Between not taking my time when measuring and being at different tensions as I try and get used to knitting sock yarn on size 6 needles. At first I was getting 21 sts/4in, then 25 and now I have settled on 23sts/4in. I feel pretty good about that measurement. The moment of truth came when I slipped it on and ta dah it fits!!! Please don't mind the no makeup puffy look. We just had our first hint of sun in the past 7 days and I took full advantage of it as I sat outside and knit all day. I have taken the gamble to just go ahead and knit the small size even though my gauge is off by a stitch. The pattern calls for 24sts/4in, but I am a rebel and I figure I have the power of the Wollmeise on my side. There is no way this sweater can go wrong right? Speaking of Wollmeise I wanted to pass on to everyone that according to her site there will be no more Saturday updates. To catch an update you are going to have to be around late Thursday night into Friday morning or around 8:30am Friday morning. That of course is if you're in the Pacific time zone.

One last note before the silence of the weekend. I have listed some sale batts and will continue to do so throughout the weekend. Check the sale section of the shop. 4oz. batts for $10

Romney!

2010-06-15T10:49:00.000-07:00

I just added 7 new colorways to the shop Unfortunately we are having another gloomy day here on the mountain, so I had to take the pictures inside. I have a very dark house and I am forced to use a flash. In this case it really didn't do the colors justice. These are very bright almost neon colors. As promised I am selling 4oz. for $5! Convo me if you are interested in larger quantities.

Julie keeps on giving!

2010-06-14T08:34:00.000-07:00

The kids finished up school this week. Field day was in the gym on Thursday due to the rain and cold weather, but no one seemed to mind. I guess we are used to that here in Oregon. Both kids had friends ride the bus home with them and had a slumber party. Full of spaghetti and rootbeer floats summer vacation has officially begun. The rain continued on Friday, so Riley and I decided to get out the dye pot and dye up this romney that I got from Julie's estate sale. Let me just say we started out 11am and (well I) didn't stop until 9:30pm! We dyed 20+ lbs of romney top, 2 1/2lbs of mohair curls, 2lbs of alpaca, and 1lb. of raw romney fleece. What sparked all of this?.....the dyes. I used the dyes that Julie left behind and let me tell you they are the most wonderful dyes I have ever used. The colors or bright and very intense. They almost have a neon hue to them, they are so bright. The other thing that I was really impressed with is I was able to get an allover even color and I wasn't even trying for that. I usually have a very difficult time getting an even color. Prior to this dye adventure, I have been a huge fan of Cushings. Before I go on just to let you know I am still a fan of Cushings. They have a wide range of colors and they are very easy to use. They also have acid dyes for your wools and protein fibers and direct dyes for your cotton and plant dyes. Both are very easy to use with simple household items such as vinegar and salt. Cushing dyes are sold in 1/2 oz packets and they claim that in that 1/2oz you can dye 2lbs of fiber. I can dye 2 lbs. of fiber with that 1/2 packet, but not evenly. Now with the dyes that I bought from Julie 1/2oz evenly covers 2lbs and then some. I couldn't believe how I was achieving an allover even color. It was amazing. The only problem about the dyes I was using is they are Lanaset and these are not easy to find. They also are a quite a bit more in price compared to the Cushings. They are definitely worth the price though. I will have pictures coming soon. Beings I got such a great deal on the roving from the estate sale I will be selling these 4oz. hand dyed romney wool for $5! They are almost all dry and should be listed in the shop later on today and tomorrow. Once again Thanks Julie!

It's a tie!

2010-06-11T09:42:00.000-07:00

Well I have officially evened the score with Wollmeise. My other two skeins showed up this week! They are so beautiful and definitely worth the wait. After my mild freak out with only receiving 4 in my last shipment, the staff at Wollmeise let me know that the other 2 skeins would be arriving in a separate package. The colors are absolutely beautiful, though my camera doesn't do them justice. The lime green is a solid but the pink is varigated and so pretty. I may have to make a scarf out of the pink one. I have also decided to do a cardigan out of the blue from the first shipment. I know I am absolutely crazy! I am all about the thick and chunky sweaters and never knit anything below a worsted weight, so I am really stepping out of my box here. Once again I have Lisa to thank for all of this! She started the Featherweight Cardigan by Hannah Fettig the week before and suggested that it would be a good one to knit the duplicate Wollmeise skeins in. So here I am about 10 hours into the sweater and about 8in to show for. This is going to take me all summer! My gauge is also off so I am going to have to be doing some major math here once I get to the point of dividing for the sleeves. It is a top down sweater though, which I love. No seams!!! Lisa and I would love to have anyone join us as we knit this sweater. We started a post on my Ravelry group if you are interested! I know I will be needing all the encouragement I can get to get through this sweater!!

Thank you Julie

2010-06-06T07:52:00.000-07:00

I had a very bittersweet weekend. About 3 weeks ago my friend Carla came across an ad on Craigslist stating that the first and second Saturday of June there was going to be a big fiber sale. It just so happened that this sale was located in Estacada which is not very far from us up here on the mountain. The ad stated that there would be wheels, looms, carders, and a room full of fiber. Sounds absolutely amazing right?! Carla called me Friday night and asked me if I wanted to go with her. I said I wasn't too sure and that I would email her later on that evening to let her know. I was figuring that I really didn't need any more equipment or fiber and that going I could just get into trouble. My husband looked at me and said are you nuts, just go. I realized that he was right and emailed Carla letting her know I would be at her house at 7am. I wanted to make sure we were at the sale by 8am when it started. Holy cow! I was a kid in a candy store, it was amazing. There was everything for next to nothing! The carder and wheel sold right away. I loaded up on a huge stainless steel dye pot for $5 and a bunch of dyes for $16. I also got another set of interchangeable needles from KP that were organized in a nice book for $12. I then grabbed some beautiful alpaca roving. It was 12oz. for $12 so I grabbed two. At this point I thought I was done. Carla then happens to hear a woman come around the corner and say hey there is another full room full of fiber over here!!! Let the fun begin!!!! There was a sign saying all roving $5/lb all raw fleece $2/lb. I couldn't even think straight as Carla and I started grabbing fiber. We had a blast and were on a high the entire drive back home. When we got back home and started unloading our loot we quickly realized that all of this fiber had a story. The dyes were all packed in kits ready for the next fiber festival. So was all the dyed fleece and handpainted roving. There was a web address and the website was still up. We quickly realized all this work was done by a lady named Julie. She owned her own sheep on their 40 acre piece of paradise. She definitely had a passion for spinning, weaving, and knitting. She passed away last August 2009 and her husband was just now selling off her hobby that made her so happy. It hit home for both Carla and I as we found receipts for knitting needles and fiber that she had purchased only a month before her death. We don't know how she died, but we do know from the work she left behind that she was very talented. We feel very grateful to be able to spin up some of her amazing work. The picture is of some handpainted roving that she dyed from her own herd. I spun it in a 2ply bulky weight!

Wollmeise 3 Jen 0....I am getting my ass kicked!

2010-06-04T06:54:00.000-07:00

You read it right, Wollmeise is killing me. Yesterday went from total excitement to fiber drama. I went to the post office not even thinking about receiving my yarn yet and to my surprise the yellow envelope was in my box. I was so excited and couldn't even control myself. The postmaster thought I was absolutely crazy as I was trying to explain my excitement and how I was up at 4am trying to get this yarn. I decided to not explain any further to him how big of a deal the package was when he looked at me like I was growing horns out of my head. Seriously non-knitters(except for my husband) just don't get it no matter how much you explain so best to keep this kind of thing to yourself. So I get back into the car and can't even wait to get home to rip into the bag. I was a little concerned though because on the outside of the package the customs tag said 4x wool. I was thinking uh oh I ordered 6x wool. Hopefully this is a mistake. Sure enough I open the bag to find 2 packages not 3. So beween my panic attack and trying to breathe easily I calmly talk myself down saying it was just a mistake and it will all get straightened out. Ok fine I get back to the task at hand and start ripping into the first package. Absolutely beautiful colors. So in love with them. I then am all excited and start to rip open the next bag to find the exact same color combination. HMMM. At this point one must laugh. I came home and immediately emailed Wollmeise about the missing 2 skeins. I am not even going to address the duplicate order. I figure I can either make a larger project or try and trade someone else on Ravelry. No biggie. So I did get a response this morning from Wollmeise,however they accidentally responded to me concerning another individuals order that hasn't yet showed up. So the drama continues. Once again one has only two options in this situation....Laugh and open a bottle of wine and boy did I do both.

Wollmeise 1 Jen 0

2010-06-03T06:53:00.000-07:00

Well not only was the Wollmeise a challenge to get, but it is going to be a challenge to knit. As I mentioned earlier I am a good ole plain vanilla sock knitter. My friend Lisa(who I blame for all this sock business)pointed out that I am a product knitter and just want those socks on my feet, to where she is a process knitter and enjoys the knitting and is in no rush for the end product. She definitely has me nailed! I also just couldn't justify putting so much time into an elaborate design for something that goes on your feet that one doesn't even see. With the major effort it takes one to get Wollmeise I have decided that I don't want to just plow through the yarn too quickly to have some socks on my feet. I have found a pattern that I have fallen in love with. Not only am I stepping out of my box with some cable design on the socks, this pattern happens to be done from the toe up, which I haven't done before. Remember I am still fairly new at sock knitting and feel that I am just finally getting the anatomy of the sock down. Right away casting on for these socks I had to do a provisional cast on, which I too have never done before. The directions seemed easy enough and I had no problem making the crochet chain and then casting on my 30sts, that was until it was time to pull the chain out from the stitches. I was a mess. I had to end up cutting the chain out instead as it did not easily slide out. One also has to do a series of short rows on the toe wrapping and turning. I have done this technique before,so that part wasn't too bad. I then get to the point where I am working in the round and starting the pattern. I made a very stupid mistake and beings I barely knew what was going on at this point I was forced to unravel all that I had done losing an entire afternoon of knitting. Hence leaving the score of Wollmeise 1 Jen 0.

On another note I have a subscription to Vogue knitting. Those of you who have followed my blog know that it usually is a very depressing day when the Spring and Summer issues show up at the house. I am not a lace knitter nor a cotton fan, which are what seem to fill those issues. So you can imagine how excited I was yesterday to find in my mailbox a Vogue edition called early fall!!! Ooh I couldn't wait to get home and look through it. I start flipping through and came to the first pattern, nah not for me, but I am still hopeful to see the next pattern. Same feeling. The next thing I knew I was at the end of the magazine feeling worse then I do when I get through the summer issue. I have no idea why Vogue had to do that to me. Listing the magazine at Early Fall was way too much of a tease for me. Mid-summer would have been more like it. I will say this though, there were a few great articles in it so the issue definitely wasn't a waste.

First round of Wollmeise and I lasted 6 hours!

2010-06-02T06:52:00.000-07:00

The weekend before I got my first Wollmeise update, my dear friend Lisa got an update for me. Those 2 skeins showed up yesterday and let me just say Wollmeise does not disappoint. The color is amazing. The skeins are so dense! I have heard from quite a few people that the yarn has a very high twist to it. It really does. I have to say I have never seen a sock yarn that feels like this. I sat and stared at the two skeins that compliment each other and to my surprise I thought I need to make something other then socks with these. I then started searching through Ravelry for patterns and quickly remembered I am not a shawl person, not to mention I barely have the patience to knit socks let alone a larger project in sock yarn. I am tempted, however, by a scarf pattern that came with the skeins though. Well all the staring, petting, and pondering what to make with the yarn lasted a whole 6 hours and I tore into the skein. I just couldn't help myself. The next thing I knew I was winding it into a ball and knitting up a swatch. I have a few sock patterns picked out, but I am still not 100% sure what pattern I am going to do. But for now I am just thrilled to be the proud owner of 2 skeins of Wollmeise! Thanks Lisa.

Meet the Girls!!!

2010-06-01T12:44:00.000-07:00

Well the Andersen family has added 5 new members! Whiskey, Gin, Tonic, Merlot, and Ninkasi(the goddess of beer and our new favorite brewery!) The girls are all around 4-5months old. They are not laying eggs quite yet but should be in the next few months. Tyler has been working very hard on getting the coop ready and totally enclosed. Not only to keep the girls in but other animals out! We are so excited to finally have them. The kids spent the entire afternoon playing with them. Riley seems to be a bit more comfortable in handling them then Chapin. He is happy to just kind of observe and talk to them. Merlot is the darker red one that Chapin picked out and she by far is the friendliest. She is very curious about us and has no problem with us petting her. Gin in my opinion is the prettiest. She is a silver lace chicken and has the pretty black and white pattern. She is the next sweetest one. Tonic is a java chicken and she is black with white and brown speckles. She is the smallest one out of the 5. I am not quite sure about Whiskey (the lighter red one) or Ninkasi ( the black one). They both don't allow us to get too close. They are going to take some work. Their first night was pretty funny. As you can see in the coop it is up against our rock wall fence. When chickens sleep they like to sleep up on a perch all together. Tyler built a perch with a ramp inside the coop for them to sleep on. We kept checking throughout the early evening to see if they were in the house yet. When it was completely dark Tyler had gone outside to check on them to make sure they were in the house. He kept looking and didn't see them anywhere. He came back inside to get a flash light to find them all huddled together sleeping up high on the rocks. He ended up putting each one in the house on the perch! It was pretty funny. When I took the kids to the bus stop they still weren't out of the house. I put some fresh water and food out for them and by the time I got back from my morning walk they were all out. This should be quite the adventure! Now I just need to talk Tyler into converting the dog house into a sheep barn!!!!!

Enough with the rain already

2010-05-25T06:39:00.000-07:00

I have officially had it with the weather! Rain all last week and it continues this week! It is getting really old. I know I mentioned in a previous post that we had a really mellow winter. Well the problem with that is it was dark, gloomy and rainy all winter and it feels like it hasn't stopped. The good thing about snow is it is nice and bright and cleansing, so you get that boost when you see it falling. So I feel like I have been under a dark fog since October. The sun can definitely show up any time now. We have the garden all planted and the little starts are drowning in puddles of water. So far I think everyone is hanging in there. It looks like at this point I may only have to re-plant a few cucumbers and some artichokes. We will have to see.

There are some changes going on at the Etsy shop. A few months ago I listed a new line of batts. Those batts are now pulled from the Etsy shop and are hoping to find their way to a LYS near you! I will continue to be listing OOAK and art batts in the shop as well as trying out new colorways. Hanks in the Hood won't be going anywhere on Etsy just some small changes. If there is a yarn shop near you that you would like to see HITHs batts, rovings, or yarns please let us know.

WOLLMEISE!!!!

2010-05-23T09:02:00.000-07:00

My friend Lisa has once again gotten me into fiber trouble. This time it comes in the form of the coveted sock yarn made from Claudia Wollmeise. Lisa had told me about Wollmeise a few months ago. I was telling her about some sock yarn that I saw for $50! She said that she has seen this Wollmeise go for the $100 range on Ebay. From that point on I had to check it out. After visiting her website I quickly realized that this wasn't yarn that you could just say oh I like that and want to order it! Here is how it all works and what makes this yarn so special. Claudia is the only person that dyes the yarn. She offers two types of sock yarn. One is 80% merino 20% nylon and the other is 100% merino. She also offers a lace weight. There is only one shop in the US that carries her yarn and that is the Loopy Ewe. They do not regularly have her yarn in stock either, and when they do it sells out immediately. Unless you buy it from someone off of Ebay or Ravelry catching an update is your best bet. Claudia updates her site on Friday and Saturday. There isn't a set time but I have found that to catch a Friday update I need to stay up late on Thursday night. I have seen her post between the hours of 11pm -12:45am. I was sleeping with my computer and never caught a Friday update. On Saturday's she has updated between 5:30am and 7:45am. At this point I just figured I was probably never going to own a skein of Wollmeise. I started thinking that it was just impossible to get some. I was open to buying it from someone on Ravelry who was de-stashing, but I was very against buying it off of Ebay. Claudia has people heavily monitoring Ebay and will not sell to sellers that consistently sell her yarn for an inflated price. It wasn't until Lisa actually got in on an update about 5 weeks ago that I realized it was possible. It took Lisa a good month of trying to get some yarn, but she did it! Lisa has since got in on another update to where she was kind enough to order some for me! I couldn't believe it. I woke up to an email saying that not only did she score another update but this time around she got 4 skeins and they were for me. I couldn't believe it! They should be arriving to her house this next week. At this point I had been trying for a good 3 weeks to get in on an update. Lisa had sat through one with me giving me all kinds of tips and I still couldn't get any yarn. When she lists the yarn the screen goes grey while she is updating the site. This takes anywhere from 5-8minutes before it shows what is available. Everything is in German so you do need to do some research on what you want prior to getting in on an update. Regardless you still have no idea what colorway you are getting until it shows up at your door. So one would think that if you were actually on her site while she was updating that it would be easy to get some yarn, but no. There are thousands of other crazed knitters like you trying to get their hands on a skein. The website boggs down and you have to keep refreshing. You think you have some and then someone cart jacks you and takes your yarn. It is absolute chaos. Your heart is pounding and your are full of adrenaline. There is nothing worse then going through all these emotions to then find that it is all over in about 2-3 minutes and you didn't get any yarn and have to wait yet another week to try and go through this torturous process! Well luck was finally on my side yesterday! 3 weeks of anxiety and devastation paid off in a big way! I was out of bed by 4am yesterday updating the instock page like a crazed yarn fiend. Finally around 7:15 the screen went grey. It was the longest 5 minutes of my life. Then these little flags show up and I feel like I am going to throw up with nerves. I then see the in stock list quickly scan down to what I understand is not lace weight but sock yarn. Definitely didn't want any lace weight. At this point too there is not time to thinking or be picky. I could care less if I got 80/20 or the 100% as long as it was sock yarn I was happy. So I came to the 80/20 first and clicked on it. Like so many times before I am taken to the little flags. Devastated I refresh the page to see that once again I could try and add them to my cart. Hit the little shopping cart and then I see the little flags again. This is what happened to me during the last update so I had figured I was screwed and not going to get anything. With my heart racing and my hands shaking and words coming out of my mouth that no one can understand, I hit the refresh button and realize that I got some in my cart! I couldn't believe it. In a drug like state I proceed to not only get 1 set in my cart but 2 more! I have no idea how I did it, but I did. I finally got my day! So I got 3 sets from her We're Different line. These grab bags include 2 skeins. Each skein is 150g and will make a pair of socks. I got 1 kunterbunt which is 2 skeins that are completely different. I also got 2 gemsicht which is 2 skeins of complimenting colors. So I have a total of 6 skeins heading my way!!!!! Not to mention the 4 others that Lisa got for me. The total cost for those 6 skeins including the shipping from Germany came to $145! So definitely fairly priced and comparable to other top sock yarns. I have no idea what to expect or what colors I am getting. All I know is that even at this point the journey for Wollmeise has been incredible and well worth it. The best part of all of this has been being able to share it with Lisa. The rest of my family and non-knitting friends have been thinking I am crazy. It has just been so neat to be able to go through this experience with someone that understands what a big deal this is and can share in your joy!

Well if Wollmeise wasn't enough for one week I had another wonderful surprise. Tyler received a bonus from work a few weeks ago for saving the company he works for some money. He had told me that he just got a small $100 bonus and that it was given to him on a credit card. Well he lied. It did come on a credit card but it was a $400 bonus. He spent a big chunk of it on some John Fluevog shoes for me. I have been drooling over these shoes for awhile and been trying to save up for them. I was so surprised on Wednesday afternoon when these were waiting for me by the door.

I was so thrilled and couldn't believe it! I have been a huge Fluevog fan since I was in high school and have owned quite a few pairs throughout the years. It has been over 8 years since I had a new pair. I feel very spoiled and love my new Sweet Peas! I wore them for the first time last night as we went out for dinner with good friends! This has definitely been a week that I won't forget. The rain can continue to dump... I have my Sweet Peas and some Wollmeise on the way!

Getting my fiber groove back!

2010-05-13T10:42:00.000-07:00

Lots of silence here on the blog. I took some time off after filling Church's order and I am finally getting the store stocked back up. It has been a very long winter. We actually had no snow whatsoever until spring hit. We saw 3in in one day 2 weeks ago. It left as fast as it rolled in. Very gloomy and rainy winter and much looking forward to summer!

Stop by the shop and mention the blog and receive one free batt of your choice with a minimum purchase of $18.

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New fibers and Free Shipping.

2009-12-04T11:40:00.000-08:00

New fibers listed in my Etsy shop!!!! Free shipping to my blog followers. Enter hollyberry at checkout!

Church photo shoot!!!!!!

2009-11-20T11:02:00.001-08:00

Check out this great article on Church. My wrap was used in the 4th picture!!!!

Spun Out

2009-11-02T05:55:00.001-08:00

I have been working with an Australian company for the past few months. The owner of the Wool Shack contacted me interested in my batts for a new site she is launching. Spun Out finally launched this last week.

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T12:26:00.001-07:00

Can you guess who I am????? I will give you a hint....I am just a waitress! HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!

Curse You Lisa Shawl!

2009-10-28T05:33:00.001-07:00

The chunky cowl craze has definitely not come to an end, however I am taking on a challenge. My dear knitting/spinning friend Lisa had to have a good laugh at how different our knitting styles are as she just finished a very finely knit cowl. I took that laugh as a challenge and got into the stash and cast on the Boneyard Shawl.
I am using Possum Lace from Cherry Tree Hill yarns. Yep I said possum. It is 70% superwash merino and 30% possum. I haven't decided if I think it is totally gross or not that I will be wearing the ugly, creepy little animal fiber around my neck, but it is oh so soft. I have never made a shawl before and don't particularly think of myself as a shawl person. Once again Lisa is to blame for this. She has been on a major lace and shawl kick lately, which has sparked my interest. I originally thought I would go for more of a rectangular wrap style shawl so I could wrap up in it at home on those cold winter days. When I came across the Boneyard Shawl though and saw how it was warn as a scarf I just couldn't resist.

I also finished seaming up Riley's birthday CSJ. I got it done in time for her to wear it for her school pictures. I am really glad that I ended up doing this sweater for her. It has made me decide that I have no desire to make the ASJ for myself. I am really disappointed in how this sweater finished up. I have made the BSJ and found that enjoyable to knit but everything was all done by the time you put it together. With the CSJ you have to add length to the sleeves as well as the button band after you are done knitting. I chose not to put a button band on Riley's jacket and just did a crochet trim around it and the collar.

On the fiber front I have been busy filling orders for Paradise Fibers and Spun Out. Spun Out should have their site launched by the end of the month! I do have a couple of new colorways in the Etsy store. Still loving the fall weather, which still remains a big influence in my batts.

We are desperately trying to stay healthy. The swine flu has hit our elementary school. There was a point last week that over 70 kids were sick, so Tyler and I decided to keep the kids home for a couple of days. Chapin ended up coming down with a touch of the stomach flu, but other then that we seem to be hanging in there. Chapin's skin is in really good shape right now, so his immune system actually has a fighting chance.

You may have noticed from the picture that I drastically changed my hair. I have been bleach blonde for over 15 years and it was finally time for a change. My natural color is still a light blonde, which is what I am going for. The red/brown was a bit of an accident, but I am slowly getting used to it.

Chunky Cowl Craze!

2009-10-21T05:54:00.000-07:00

Lots of changes going on here at Hanks. I launched a new website. This time around I had a graphic designer do it for me. We are still fine tuning some things and changing around the pictures, but feel free to check it out. If you are in the market for a new site I would highly recommend Sandra Busta. She was great to work with and reasonably priced. I have also launched a new Etsy site that I will be selling some of my handknit goods at. At the moment Church is still working on their website, so in the meantime my knitted goods will be available on Etsy.

I have been knitting cowls like crazy lately. With the weather change right around the corner I am ready to be cozy and warm. These chunky cowls are fun to wear and very versatile. Many are large enough to wear over your shoulders or to use as a hood, or if you are like me and enjoy having the big huge chunky mass of fiber around your neck.

Is it October already?

2009-10-02T11:26:00.001-07:00

I always get so excited for school to start so we can get on a routine and not be so busy. I always seem to forget that once school starts we tend to be non-stop busy through January. Of course the Andersen family has been blessed with the back to school bug. It started with Riley the first week back at school and went through all of us. We even continued to pass the joy onto my parents who visited last week for Riley's birthday.

Lots to catch up on though. Church's opening went really well and they are continuing to get a lot of press and celebrity clients.

I am still knitting like crazy for them. I am on a scarf and cowl kick right now.
In between knitting for Church I have managed to make a few pairs of socks for myself, a sweater for Riley (CSJ), and casted on another sweater for me.

I attended the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival last Sunday with my friend Carla. We had a great time and I am happy to report that I kept myself in control and only spent $35! This was an all time festival record for yours truly! I managed to buy 2 fleeces and 1/2oz of angelina fiber for that $35, not too shabby. I bought a beautiful 4lb Jacob fleece that I am working on processing. Carla and I also bought a 6lb Churro fleece that we are going to split.

I am also working on a new website. I finally decided to pay a professional to put one together for me. We have been working on it for a good month now and I am hoping to have it up by the end of October. I am also in the works of opening another Etsy store for my hand knit goods. Church is still working on their website, so in the meantime I will be selling my items on Etsy. I am hoping to have some stuff listed in the next few weeks.

If you are interested in some alpaca I have the last of it listed on Ebay. You can find me under the user name chapinandrew.

Sootie's birthday joy ride!

2009-09-11T16:15:00.000-07:00

I have been forbidden the last 2 years we have owned our Mustang to allow dogs in it. Beings my husband wasn't home and today is Sootie's 4th birthday I saw no harm in letting her go for a short ride down to the store.

I think it's safe to say I made her day!

Back to school!

2009-09-10T06:19:00.000-07:00

The kids went back to school and Tyler started his new job on Tuesday. We are slowly getting back into a routine. Tyler has to get up by 5am to make it to his new job on time. I have been getting up with him so we are on the same schedule and I can say that finally this morning I am not as grouchy as I have been the past few! Things are definitely starting to turn around. The kids have had a great few first days. Riley has been so excited. This is the first year that she is at school all day long. She also has a very special teacher. Mrs. Johnson started at Welches when Chapin was in kindergarten. He was lucky enough to have her not only for kindergarten but first grade as well. With the recession and a lot of budget cuts we thought that Riley was going to have to miss out on having Mrs. Johnson because they were planning on moving her back down to teach kindergarten. We were all very bummed throughout the summer until we received an email from Mrs. Johnson in August saying that she does get to teach 1st grade! So Riley has just been thrilled this week. Chapin was in a split last year and is in another one this year. He has the same teacher that he had last year, which he too is thrilled about. Last year there were 4 teachers covering the split and now there are only 3. He came home saying that he has 27 kids in his class and that Mrs. Well really needs help! Tyler has also had a wonderful first few days at his new job. He is really enjoying it and we are both pleasantly surprised that his commute isn't as bad as we were expecting. Things are really starting to turn around and all and all it has been a great first week.

As for meI have been in fiber heaven this week! My Etsy store is getting back on track as I have been listing new fibers and yarns daily. Be sure to watch for me on Ebay as well as I will continue to clean out the stash and offer great fibers at a starting .99 auction!

I was able to finish up another sweater for Church. I am really happy with it and it fits me so well that I just haven't had the heart to ship it off yet. Of course I had to pose with my Sootie as I have named the sweater after her!

After taking these pictures I decided how awful I look with long hair. I have been trying for almost 2 years now to grow it out and saw these pictures and decided to give up the battle. I feel much better with shorter hair. I didn't go as short as I usually do with the pixie cut. I left more length up front so I can have a few different looks. These aren't the greatest pictures as it was the morning the kids were off to their first day and I was getting ready for a run, but you get an idea of how it looks.

Church is having their grand opening party this Saturday. I am very excited for them and thrilled to see that all their hard work has come together. Unfortunately with the turn of events and Tyler having to get a new job I will not be able to attend the opening this weekend. I will be there in spirit though and hopefully have some great pictures to share with you next week.

Before I go on some not so good news I am sad to announce that our male heeler Zip is no longer a part of our family. During the summer his personality really changed and he ended up biting me and Riley. Fortunately neither one of us were hurt, but due to his actions we decided that he wasn't the right fit for our family. This was not an easy decision and Tyler and I are both still upset and we are still adjusting. I am thankful to have Sootie and Harley by my heels all day long giving me tons of attention.

2009-09-01T08:51:00.001-07:00

August has finished up to be a very busy month. Tyler has finished up his last day at the office of the solar company. He is taking this week and working from home. In between emails and conference calls he is working on building us a carport. The shorter days and suddle changing of the leaves that is already happening has been quite a reminder that the snow will be here before we know it. After having our Mustang sit under 3ft. of snow for a good 3 months, we figured we could really use a carport to park the cars under. He is building the carport in a way that later on down the road if we decide to turn it into a garage we will be able to. He is also putting a deck on top of the carport so we will have a nice sitting area. Very exciting. It is sure nice to have him home this week before starting his new job.

I have been on quite the spinning kick lately. My dad had called me about a month ago to let me know that there was a wheel for sale in his neck of the woods. The ad read Ashford Traditional with Woolee Winder! The Woolee Winder has always been something that I have really wanted, but just couldn't seem to allow myself to buy the luxury item. After talking to the woman who was selling the wheel, it was a really good deal so I sent my dad to pick it up for me. I just went and picked the wheel up a few weeks ago and let me tell you, the Woolee Winder is amazing! It is so nice to not have to worry about stopping to move the yarn down the bobbin. You just get to spin and it does all the work. I had heard that it can take some time to get the hang of it, but I was able to sit down and spin just fine! It really is a luxury item with the $185 price tag for the winder and $31 for each additional bobbin, but if you do a lot of spinning it is definitely worth the price.

On some not so good news a dead body was found on my running route Monday afternoon. The police came to our door Tuesday morning asking if we had heard or seen anything unusual within the last 72 hours. They also wanted to know if we heard gunshots. Fortunately they announced last night on the news that the death was determined a suicide. Our quiet little neighborhood has really been on edge and now have a bit of relief knowing it was self inflicted. The man was not an Oregon resident and seemed to be staying at the campsite across the street from us.

I made it into Elle magazine!!!!!!

2009-08-15T14:19:00.000-07:00

David and Rodney just called to tell me that the September issue of Elle magazine is on newsstands and Church as well as little ole me is mentioned in a small article on pg 196. I ran down to our local grocery store and they do not yet have the fall issue out yet, so I have yet to see it. My mom picked up a copy and was thrilled to see that they spelled my last name correctly. I am so excited!!!!!

Green beans, Spin Control, and a job change.

2009-08-13T12:52:00.000-07:00

Quite a week for the Andersen family. After a year and a half of worry and wonder about the solar company Tyler has been working for things have finally come to an end. Fortunately Tyler had been preparing for this and will be able to make another transition to a new job. The unfortunate thing is he will have quite the commute. Living in the mountains definitely has its good points but those start to become challenged when he has to drive an hour and a half one way to work. As the recession continues and the housing market where it is, it also isn't much of an option for us to sell right now. For the moment we are thankful that he has been given another great job opportunity and we will just have to see what this upcoming year brings. Our number one goal will be to stay here in this house and the community. We have made a lot of great friends here and this is a great school and place for our children to grow up in. We definitely do not want to have to think about leaving.

On a fun note we have been very busy canning green beans! What an adventure. We bought 30lbs of beans from a local farmer and got busy this past weekend. This was the first time we had done this, but it went well and was surprisingly easy. We did regular green beans as well as a pickled green bean. We tried some last night and I was very happy with the taste but I do wish that the beans were a bit more crispy. Being the anal ally that I am and worrying about food borne illness I let them boil in my pressure canner longer then necessary. Oh well safety first....better safe then sorry.

This last picture shows exactly how I felt as I neared cutting my 30th pound.

I am a bit behind here and just finally got a copy of Amy King's Spin Control from the library. Before I start to go off on how wonderful this book is, let me just tell all of you spinners out there need to own this book!!!!! It is absolutely amazing and full of some much information. Amy made me grow up big time as a spinner just by skimming through the book. As a self taught spinner, I was just thrilled that I was actually making yarn. I am also someone who loves a bulky yarn so even better. I am also the type of spinner that isn't looking to make a perfect yarn. I want that homespun look that you just can't buy, which is why I spin. I think that is what gives my knitted projects that special touch. I am also a simple knitter. I love a big thick bulky sweater that says look at this yarn. I may throw a cable in here or there but for the most part I am simple and want to show off the beautiful yarn. I have recently been forced to take my spinning more seriously as I am working with luxury fibers as cashmere, yak, and quivuit for Church. I have had to step out of my worsted comfort zone and start spinning woolen. Amy is here to explain why and show you the differences. Spin Control is so full of information for the beginning spinner as well as the advanced spinner wanting to take it to the next level. For the perfectionists such as my friends Lisa and Petra this book is an absolute must. For the casual spinner who is thrilled no matter what her yarn looks like, like myself this helps you understand how to achieve all those looks that you want. Move quickly and catch Knit Picks book sale before it is over on August 17th. You can pick up Amy King's Spin Control for just $13.77!!!! Happy Spinning!

Sock Summit,and the fair!

2009-08-10T16:16:00.000-07:00

What a great weekend we are just coming out of. The fair opened this Friday and it is a family tradition that we go every year. I grew up going to the fair as well as showing pygmy goats. That was such a great time for me as a kid that both Tyler and I have wanted to carry on that tradition. Of course there was a little leverage involved for me on the day we went. I got the kids all ready and excited and told them that before we were able to go to the fair we had to go to the Sock Summit and that they needed to be good kids. I promised them that I would limit myself to just an hour(which I did), and that they couldn't complain and had to be good(Chapin was!) Riley of course within 15 minutes was done. Rolling her eyes at me and the whole nine yards. I thought she was going to pass out when I told her we had to go through the sock museum. The highlight of the show for me was meeting Travis and Sara of Paradise Fibers. I have talked with both of them numerous times throughout the past year that they have been selling my batts but didn't really have any idea what they looked like. Sara is on Ravelry so I had seen a few random pictures of her, but didn't know what Travis looked like. Paradise Fibers had a wonderfully huge booth. They have recently come out with their own swift and they were selling like hot cakes. I would have loved to been able to meet Stephanie and Meg, but the line was too long for the book signing. I also didn't see the Ravelry kids and was bummed about that. All and all it was a great experience. One that definitely deserved more then an hour with a knitting buddy opposed to a 6 and 8 year old(thanks for letting me down mom). I managed to only spend $50( which is amazing) I bought some sock yarn(of course)from the owners of Webs. Sheep Shop Yarn Chapin had found a color combination that he really liked as well and asked if I would buy some to make for him. It took all my strength to deny my oldest child a pair of hand knit socks, but I did. When I went to pay for them the lady kindly said $23.98 and Chapin looked at me with his mouth wide opened and said "For a pair of socks!" The owner looked at him in horror as a politely whispered see why I didn't buy a pair for you. The sad thing about all of this is that price was special for the SS and half off!!!! They will for sure make for some memorable socks. We then headed to meet Tyler after work and went to the fair. We did the animals first and then were on to all the rides. Chapin is at the age that he is starting to get more and more daring with the rides. Riley still wants to stick to the smaller ones. Tyler will absolutely not go on anything. Me on the other hand loves rides, that is as long as they don't spin too much. I can do roller coasters and things that drop your stomach all day long. Chapin is into the spinning rides. There was one that he really wanted to go on and Riley was not willing, so of course it came down to me. After denying him a $24 pair of hand knit socks I figured I had no choice and hopped on the ride. Everything was fine for the first 4 minutes. I was just slowly getting to a point of feeling the slightest bit dizzy and needed to get off when they kicked it into high gear for another 2 minutes. I couldn't even walk straight when I got off that thing and had to spend the next hour and half sitting in the car praying I didn't puke. If that doesn't put me up for mother of the year, I don't know what does.

So this picture shows everything going just fine as we are getting on the ride!

Here I am ready to go, still ok, but with concern

At this point the ride has been going for awhile and I think that I am ok and can handle this.

This is now after turbo mode getting off the ride and needing to make it to the car!!!

All and all it was a great fun filled day! We didn't get home until midnight and slept in on Saturday morning!

Fall is coming!!!!

2009-08-05T16:04:00.001-07:00

And to think I thought it was a good day when my fall issue of Vogue showed up. Oh my.....nothing in comparison to the Interweave Knits that came yesterday. As I am pulling the magazine out of my tight compact post office box(mind you they have to roll the magazine to fit it in there)my eye first notices the orange S in the title and I know immediately what has come as I continue to pull there she stands in the most beautiful hooded knit jacket. I just about catch my breath when the next thing I read is 22 COZY KNITS... I immediately faint and fall to the ground. Just kidding, but I felt like I could. I run back to the hot car where my children are waiting for me irritated that I drug them down to the post office in the middle of the afternoon(don't worry I left the windows down)and I can barely hop into the driver's seat before I start skimming through the magazine. They are glaring at me in horror as I giddily turn the pages and suddenly realize that this is not how I want my precious fall issue to go down. I gently set the magazine down and burn off driving as fast as one can drive 2 blocks and race in the door. Let me tell you this issue does not disappoint as I am laying reading in my uncomfortable lounge chair, in my swimsuit with a faint smell of dog poop. In case you are wondering yes I have three dogs and yes I pick up their mess on a daily basis, but when there has been no sign of rain and the temperatures are hovering between 90-106 for the past 2 weeks smell happens. I don't care though I am so happy. The kids are in the pool splashing water on me and I am fine with that. I have my fall issue of Interweave Knits. So set aside from the covers wonderful wording of cozy knits and the beautiful hooded jacket I was instantly enthralled in the article on mills and yarn and made in the USA (pg 14) For those of you who have not yet seen this issue I will not spoil it for you. Let me just say pages 34, 42-43(the entire spread),45,46( bottom left)and oh god 50-51 are intense! I know winters are long and the mountain can seem like a horrible place....but oh my god I am so ready. Thank you fall issue....you had me at Cozy Knits!

Spinning along

2009-08-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

The heat has cooled off a bit and we have been hovering around the 90s. Really comfortable compared to what we were dealing with last week. I finished spinning the 3 lbs. of cashmere for the sweater for Church. I am at a bit of a stand still for now until I get confirmation on the color. I dyed a skein and made a scarf out of it to make sure the color is right. I started working on a 50% merino 50% yak blend. Very nice! I am not sure what I am going to make with the 2lbs I have yet. Probably a sweater. The color is absolutely gorgeous. I will post some pictures as soon as I get it plied and processed.

Church in the press

2009-07-31T12:03:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to a Vogue article on David and Rodney and Church.

http://www.style.com/vogue/voguedaily/

David is the one standing and Rodney is sitting. David and I met in Seattle through some mutual friends that I worked with at Red Robin. We met in 1993 and became fast friends. We lived together in Seattle and shared our rottweiler named Maverick. David moved to LA in 1996 and Maverick and I followed 6 months later. David started working for Maxfield and I waited tables at Gladstones. Rodney and David met at Maxfield and we all became close friends. At that point Rodney had dreadlocks down to his shoulders and I would call him Ropes. To this day it has still stuck as my kids continue to call him Uncle Ropes. After almost 2 years of living in LA, I moved on to live in Oregon and marry my husband Tyler. David was the one who walked me down the aisle at our crazy Vegas wedding. Through thick and thin and a wonderful friendship of 16 years and counting David has always been and will be my family and best friend. There was a gap of about 8 years when I lost touch with Rodney and I am so thankful to have him back as an active part of our lives. The kids adore their Uncles and can't wait until their next visit.
This store has been a long time dream and passion of the two of theirs. I am so excited to see how all of their hard work has come together. I am so thankful for the opportunity that they have given me and for believing in what I do. Congratulations guys! YOU DID IT!!!!!

Heat wave continues

2009-07-31T09:16:00.001-07:00

Even though we were 10 degrees cooler yesterday we were still melting at 96. I was able to last a bit longer with spinning yesterday so that was good. I ended up dying some of the cashmere as well. I am going for a charcoal grey and to get all the purple out it is almost turning into a black instead. It is still drying so hopefully it will lighten up a bit when it is completely dry. I am going to knit a sample hat and send it to Church to make sure that the color is right. That was part of the problem with the first sweater. There was a hint of purple to it.
I have now jumped for one end to the next in my reading. As I have finished up the entire Sookie Stackhouse series on vampires and other supernatural creatures I am now starting to read Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult. My sister gave me this book a while back. With the hot weather I have been on a reading kick lately. Charlaine Harris(author of the Sookie series) has quite a few other series that I am looking forward to reading. I have just ordered one of them and while I am waiting for it to arrive I thought I would try the Picoult book out. It is about a 7 year old girl that God is communicating to and she starts to experience stigmata. The best part is to this girl God is a woman!!!!

Fall knitting during the heat wave.

2009-07-30T08:31:00.000-07:00

Record heat can not stop my excitement when my fall knitting edition of Vogue showed up yesterday. Oh I was so happy. As you all know I go through a bit of knitting depression when the summer edition shows up full of cotton and lace. Regardless of temperatures well into the 100s I sweated over cables knit in chunky wool, it was wonderful.

I have continued to spin away on cashmere. I can finally say that I think I am getting it down. Cashmere has been a real challenge for me with its short fiber. I have also had to learn how to spin with the long draw method due to the short fiber. I am working on my 12th lb of cashmere and I am finally getting some speed and filling a 4oz. bobbin without the fiber breaking all the time.

I do need some dying advice though. I also spent the day dying yesterday. When I dye for myself I usually don't go for a solid color. I am currently working on another project for Church and am wanting a solid true color. Now I really loosened my ties on my skeins to be sure that the color got all the way through, however the end result was a big huge mess. Between stirring the yarn in the dye pot and running it through the spin cycle in the dryer, the skein is all messed up. It is definitely savable, but still a big project to undo. I suppose I didn't need to loosen the ties up as much as I did, but if you have any advice for me on how to successfully dye a good solid color without have my skeins so tangled up I would appreciate it.
Have a great day, Jen

Catching up!

2009-07-29T08:07:00.000-07:00

I can not believe that 1 month has gone by since my last post. So much to talk about!!! The kids and I headed up north at the beginning of July for their week long visit with Gramee and Grandpapa. We picked up my sister and niece in Olympia on the way up and had a nice visit with them as well. I headed back to Oregon on the 4th and Tyler and I started on our big project of pulling the carpets up and laying wood floors and slate tile. Let me tell you what a project that has been. In fact we are still not finished! We do have all the tiles layed and just need to grout a last section in the kitchen and then seal them. Well worth the hard work though. I am so happy with how it has all turned out. Having 3 dogs and 2 kids living in the woods where we get a ton of snow, this is going to be a really nice clean alternative to the light colored carpet I was constantly cleaning.

Two days after picking the kids up Riley came down with the worst case of stomach flu that we have ever had in this house. It was terrible. She literally spent 5 days on the couch before giving it to her brother and me. Tyler had been doing the happy dance thinking that he dodged it when he ended up coming down with it 2 weeks later. Unfortunately it hit him the night before we were supposed to leave on a camping trip to Prineville. We were meeting some good friends so the kids and I were still able to go. Tyler was feeling a bit better and ended up meeting us later on in the weekend. Luckily we have plans to go again at the end of August, so hopefully everyone will be healthy! As you can see between the floors and stomach flu it has been one hectic month.

On the knitting front things have been a little slow. I have been dealing with a major distraction......True Blood. Tyler and I got caught up on the HBO series and I decided to get the books. There are 9 books so far in the entire series and I just couldn't stop reading. I have been enjoying the gorgeous weather sunning and reading in the garden. I have managed to complete a couple pairs of socks though. The cashmere sweater I made for Church wasn't right for the girl who ordered it, so I am back to the drawing board and working on another one. I had to order more cashmere and just got it in last week and have started spinning on it.

The garden is really coming along. It has been so much fun! We have definitely had a lot more of a succesful garden this year then last, but it has still been a great learning year. We planted some peas and those have come up nicely but we didn't plant enough to do anything with. They take up a lot of room and I don't imagine that we will be doing them next year. We also had cauliflower that came up nicely, but I didn't catch it in time. It was so small and both Tyler and I figured that it wasn't ready and would get bigger, well we were wrong and it had flowered while we were gone camping. So I don't plan on doing cauliflower next year either. Our pickling cucumbers are doing great and I just picked our first round yesterday. Tyler is picking up some canning supplies for me this evening and I am going to can some pickles. I have never done any canning before so this shall be interesting. Other then that we are still waiting for everything else to grow. The tomatoes are looking really good and so are the zucchini.

We are heading for record heat today of 107! We have a window air conditioner but the house is still hovering around 80 in the evening. This is our 3rd day in a row of temps in the triple digits. It is not supposed to cool down until the weekend. The kids and I slept outside on the trampoline last night to try and beat the heat.

Blocking

2009-06-29T08:27:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful relaxing weekend! The sun was shining and there was plenty of reading, knitting and soaking up the rays going on. The garden sure enjoyed the sun as well. Things are really growing like crazy.
I finished the cashmere cardigan for Church on Wednesday. I was hoping to have had it shipped by Saturday but it still wasn't dry. I will be able to ship it out today though. We recently got a new washing machine a few months ago. It is a front loading machine. I was wondering if anyone else out there has one and has ever put a sweater in it to spin out the excess water? The front loading machines really are pretty much just a big drum. They do not have the big middle turning piece that agitates your clothes when turning. After washing the cashmere sweater and gently wringing it out in a towel it was still really really wet. I thought maybe I could get away with putting it in a garment bag and putting it in the washer on the spin cycle. I lasted about 2 minutes before anxiety of ruining the cashmere cardigan finally took hold of me and I stopped the whole process and just let it dry out on its own. Anyways if any of you out there have done this I would love to hear how it worked for you.
Just a quick note to let you all know that July is an extremely busy month for our family. I will continue to at least blog once a week, but can't promise much more then that. I do hope you all are having a great summer.

This blog post cracked me up!

2009-06-25T07:50:00.000-07:00

All you knitters will get a giggle out of Lady Trouble's latest post!

Ho Hum week

2009-06-24T08:05:00.000-07:00

Not much has been going on this past week. The weather hasn't been that nice. Very gloomy and overcast. It rained quite a bit this weekend so we didn't get much done in the yard. Father's day was a nice relaxing lazy day.

I am happy to say that we have been eating our romaine lettuce out of the garden this past week. Very exciting. The zucchini is moving along quite nicely and so are the peas. We could use a bit more sunshine to help things move along though.

Our neighbors have been in Ireland the past week and we are watching their dog. They live behind us and back up to nothing but woods. What a different world they live in even though they live right behind our fence. We have been taking their dog on daily walks and have seen quite a few deer. Last night we saw a buck. It was really neat. It is not very common for us to see deer on our neighborhood, so this has been quite a treat.

I am still working on the cashmere sweater for Church. I am done with all the fun knitting and now to just sew it all together. I have been distracted a bit from working on it as I have been into reading. We watched season 1 of the True Blood series on HBO and now I am reading the books. The author is Charlaine Harris and she has a few different series that you can read. I just finished Grave Sight. Prefect quick summer read, except it distracted me from my knitting.

Just whack it!

2009-06-18T07:39:00.000-07:00

My friend Petra from Germany is just getting into spinning. She has a drop spindle that she has been working with. She just finished plying her first yarn and I was telling her my method for washing my yarn and just had to post these pictures. As I mentioned in an earlier post I have been saving up all my leftover fiber from carding and have been spinning on that. I finished my fourth bobbin and decided to process the 4 skeins yesterday to show Petra the process. I soak my fiber in hot soapy tap water for a good 20 minutes and then rinse in hot water for another 20 minutes. The yarn then goes right into my washing machine on the spin cycle to get all the excess water out. This first picture was taken right after I took the skeins out of the machine.

The yarn has a ton of different fibers in it. Granted my carder sees mostly merino and bamboo. I have also been carding alpaca, cashmere, mohair, yak, corriedale, and romney these past 6 months. I also spun this yarn in a single ply, so as you can see it had a ton of energy and twist in that yarn. This next picture was taken after whacking the skein on a chair seat a few times. It took the majority of all that unwanted extra twist right out.

I then let my yarn dry to a bit of tension on a drying rack that my husband made for me. Normally I will just let the skeins hang straight down and dry, but beings this was a single ply with a ton of energy in it drying it with a bit of tension will help to take out any extra twist.

That is all there is to it.
I also wanted to make mention that on my Ravelry group I am trying to organize a fiber swap. If you are interested check the group for further details and let me know. Should be a lot of fun and a great way to try out some different fibers and get to know some fellow spinners.

Twitter is fun!

2009-06-17T09:09:00.000-07:00

After fighting it for months, I finally caved and joined Twitter. I was so against this. Between blogging, Etsy, Facebook, Ravelry and trying to update my website I spend a ton of time online and wasn't looking for yet another thing to do with my computer. I have to say Twitter is by far my favorite thing. It is super quick to post and to the point. You have a limit of 140 words that you are allowed to post at one time. Sounds silly and stupid and I wondered why would I want to do this when I have facebook. Twitter allows anyone to follow you(unless you block them). People can find you by searching certain topics that they too are interested in that you talk about. Of course I am posting about knitting, spinning, fiber, blue heelers, and raising 2 kids. Just by posting a few times a day I have met some great people that I wasn't coming in contact with before. Each week I am going to feature some of these people on my blog.
The first person I am going to feature is Mandalinn25. In the 2 short months I have been on Twitter she has cracked me up. Whether she is drinking wine and trying to knit lace or getting attacked by her cats, she definitely is one that I look forward to her posts. You can check her out on Etsy and Ravelry too.

Pictures

2009-06-16T11:20:00.000-07:00

Living in the woods surrounded by trees can cause a problem with lighting. I have a very dark house that not a lot of natural light comes through. Taking pictures of my batts, yarn and fiber and getting the true color has always been a challenge. The majority of the year it is not feasible for me to photograph outside. I don't know much about photography to begin with and as far as using my camera I know the basics from the manual and that is it. I recently purchased a portable lighting studio and have been messing around with that. I would appreciate any feedback on the above photos. They were taken three different ways, so if you could just comment on which you look you liked the best to the worst that would be great. Thanks for your help, Jen

Relaxing weekend!

2009-06-15T07:13:00.000-07:00

I am happy to report that we did absolutely nothing this weekend! It was nice to just hang around home and not have any obligations. We got some work done in the garden. Things are really doing very well. So far it is looking like you can have a successful garden while living in the mountains. Tyler spent yesterday building trellis's for the tomatoes, peas, and beans. The romaine lettuce is looking like it will be ready to eat in a matter of a few weeks. The strawberries are growing and we are having the same problem as we did last year. Before they are ready some little critter is eating them. We think it must be a squirrel or chipmunk beings we have a huge fence, so a deer isn't getting to them. We don't really have an issue with rabbits but they also wouldn't be able to get in because of the fence. I would love to hear any advice on protecting our strawberries. My good friend Susan suggested a motion detected alarm to keep the cats away. The device sends a piercing alarm that only animals can hear when they pass by it. She too has had a cat issue and this has worked for her. We are definitely going to be ordering one and hoping that not only does it keep the cats out, but some of these other little critters that like to steal our berries.
Even though I didn't partake in world wide knitting in public day, I sure indeed knit that day! Living in the boonies and not having any friends nearby that knit didn't really make me want to get out on my own and do anything. I was there in my garden knitting away thinking about everyone though! I am still working on the cashmere sweater for Church. I talked to them this week and the girl who wants the sweater is out of town for the next couple of weeks so there was no major rush to have it to them by the end of last week. I am almost done with it though so I will definitely have it to them by the end of this week. I was also able to get some spinning done this weekend. It had been awhile since I had my wheel out, so that felt really good. I spun 3 bobbins of the wonderful cashmere/merino blend that I love so much. I also plied all three of them together and got a nice big 12oz. skein. This too will turn into a project for Church. I have also been saving up all my leftover fiber from carding for the past 6 months or so. I have a good 2lbs of a variety of fibers and colors all blended together. I ended up spinning 2 bobbins of that as well over the weekend. I initially planned on making a 2ply but once I got done with the first bobbin I decided against it. The yarn is very fun and full of texture and color and I didn't want to lose the look of that by plying. I will definitely be using this yarn for a project for myself.

Rain, garden issues and discount roving.

2009-06-10T15:12:00.000-07:00

The rain and cold weather has been back. We have spent the entire day inside. No complaints as I had plenty of time to play with fiber. The sun is starting to pop out now, so hopefully we will be able to go on our family walk later this evening.
We have started to have a cat problem in our garden. It is very frustrating because we went to great lenghts to keep our dogs out of the garden this year by fencing the entire thing off. Fortunately we do not have a lot of cats in our neighborhood. Just one neighbor has a couple of cats that they allow to wander around. The cats were never really an issue until Tyler built the dogs their kennel. They can now freely hop our fence without fearing that the dogs will chase them away. Now these cats are just tickled with our garden and are using it as a mansion sized litter box. Of course they are digging all over the garden and have killed some of our plants. I am hoping we can fix this situation without having to approach our neighbors about it. As one who has 3 blue heelers I really don't want to start a problem. Our dogs do not wander the neighborhood, but they do bark. So with that being said I am hoping that we are able to easily fix the cat problem. So far today they haven't been around. YAY!
I have added a few more batts to the Etsy store. I have also listed some great discount superwash rovings on my website. Solid color 4oz. braids are $5 and Multi-color 4oz. braids are $6. Quantites are limited. I ship by priority mail and I am happy to combine shipping between my site and Etsy.

Done with softball, cashmere sweater, comedy show and an opening at KnitPicks!

2009-06-08T16:22:00.000-07:00

Well it has been quite the weekend. Unfortunately it wasn't all that great. The last tournament of the season for softball was a nightmare. We were originally scheduled to play at 10:30am and 1:30pm on Saturday. Tyler and I have had tickets to Dane Cook's comedy show and with our last game getting done by 3pm it didn't conflict with the show, that is until Friday night. At 9:30pm I got a call saying the tournament was delayed 2hours due to the rain that had started up. Well at 9:30 there wasn't much I could do at that point. By 7am on the day of the tournament the call came through that they were canceling the whole day and that if it all cleared up we would be on for Sunday. Ok great!! Tyler and I were relieved because with the 2 hour late start time there was no way we were going to be able to make the second game as well as the show. Well the fun doesn't stop there. 11am I get yet another call asking if I could get my team ready to play later on that afternoon. At this point I was so over this frickin' tournament. They were wanting us to start the game at 3:45pm which there was no way we could make the game and the show. I called another parent who has been a great helper throughout the season and she had no problem coaching the girls that evening while we were gone. It wasn't ideal and Tyler and I didn't feel good about missing their game, but the tickets were already paid for and we figured it would be fine. The girls ended up losing that game unfortunately and I got the call saying we were to play the next morning at 8:30am. It was also told to us that if we lost that game we were done, but if we continued to win we could potentially play 2-3 more games that day. Unfortunately we ended up losing that game as well, but were surprised with yet another game anyways, that we too lost. It was just a very difficult way to end the entire season. Tyler and I can't help but take partial blame for not being around that first game. The rules for tournament were different then how we have been playing all year. As this was the first year that Tyler and I had coached this age level it was quite the learning year for us. So it was very frustrating to have to quickly learn how to play tournament rules and to also explain them to our parents that came to watch. It was very devistating to have to end such a great season the way it did. As wonderful of an experience that I had getting to know each one of these girls, I just don't think I am cut out to be a coach. It is not an easy position to be in and it is one that I will not be doing again. On top of all of that Dane Cook really wasn't that funny. We both were pretty disappointed. However this was the first date night that we have had in an extremely long time, so we did thoroughly enjoy our time together. We met some good friends for a quick bite to eat and some drinks before the show and had a blast visiting with them. Here is a picture of us on our long overdo date.

Church called last week to let me know that one of Portia's friends saw her wearing the cashmere sweater that I knit and she too would like one in a dark charcoal grey color. So I have been busy working on that. I am happy to report that I am done with the back of the sweater and hoping to have it sent to them by the end of the week. We will see though, as excited as I was to have to kids on summer break I have been quickly reminded within the first 8 hours of break that they don't always get along and I spend a lot of time working things out! Right now they are each in their own rooms playing quietly!!!!
Before I go I am very tempted by an opening at KnitPicks.
http://portland.craigslist.org/clk/csr/1207154443.html
It is so tempting when the job requirements tell one that you need to know and love knitting. And get this they also said loving Elizabeth Zimmerman is a big plus and in closing wanted to make sure you posted your Ravelry username on your resume. It is a part time position, which is great! The big downfall is it is located in Vancouver, Washington. It is definitely doable for me depending on the hours and beings it is part time as it would be a good 1 hour 20 minute commute. With the kids just starting summer break it isn't really the best time for me to get a job, but this one is really hard to pass up. I will definitely keep you all posted if I end up applying or not.

I finished the FLS!!!!!

2009-06-04T20:55:00.000-07:00

I couldn't help but post these pictures tonight!!!! I finished the FLS for Merily. I am thrilled that I made my deadline. I am really happy with how the sweater turned out. I enjoyed knitting this so much that I am definitely going to be making one for myself.

Kindergarten graduation!

2009-06-04T13:56:00.001-07:00

Wordless Wednesday!

2009-06-03T06:27:00.000-07:00

I came across this sign on my morning run! More disturbing then the misspelling is that the individual who made the sign owns Rhody's local sign shop! Thought you could all use a good laugh.

Etsy treasurey!

2009-06-02T06:16:00.000-07:00

My gorgeous sun turned on me yesterday while I was doing yardwork. The cloudly skies rolled in with rain and thunderstorms. I guess I get to take the morning off from watering the garden. Very muggy! The rain caused me to head inside and work on some new batts. I was able to do 11 new colorways that I will be listing in my Etsy store later on this morning. Speaking of Etsy thanks to Beth of Whorling Tides, I am in a treasury. I am honored to be included with the other amazing artists. Thank you Beth.
I am officially done with the body of the FLS. I am so happy with it. I will say this though, I made the XS size as I have read that this runs big. It definitely does. I am thinking when I knit one for myself that I may go down one more size.

Another gorgeous weekend!

2009-06-01T06:49:00.000-07:00

We sure have been spoiled with the weather we are having. Definitely taking full advantage of it too. We were pushing 90 all weekend long and broke down and bought the kids a big pool. It was torture though because by the time it finished filling up, which was 6 hours!!!!!! It was too late for them to use it. The weather is supposed to remain hot and sunny for the rest of this week as well, so they will definitely be getting to use it.
This is the kids last week of school. I really can't believe how quickly the year has gone by. We are all looking forward to summer!
I was able to get some more knitting done on the FLS. I will definitely have the body finished by today and starting on the sleeves. I am still feeling pretty optimistic that I will have it done by Friday. I can not tell you how much fun this sweater is to knit. I definitely recommend it. This is by far the funnest sweater I have made in a long time. I can't wait to get one going for myself.

Harley riding heeler!

2009-05-31T08:03:00.001-07:00

Those of you who follow me regularly know if I am not talking about fiber, my kids, or gardening that I am talking about my 3 heelers! I also am patiently waiting for the day that I own my own Harley Davidson. So you can imagine how tickled my husband was to see this Blue Heeler sitting on a Harley outside a bar in Sandy, Oregon. He had to pull over and take this picture. I have been laughing ever since and wanted to share it with you.
I got some good knitting done on the FLS. I am thinking I may just make it by my deadline of Friday, depending on how difficult the sleeves are. I am almost done with the body and only have a few more inches to go!

Late night, but a fun game.

2009-05-30T08:30:00.000-07:00

We had a great game to end the softball season! We played a really fun, well matched team. I give all the girls credit because it was a hot night. When we started it was 90 and no shade. The fields really had full sun until about the last 15 minutes of the game. It has been so much fun coaching and getting to know all of these girls over the past few months. It is sad to see it come to an end. We have a final tournament to go through next weekend and then Tyler and I are throwing an end of the season party for everyone in a couple of weeks. The game was in Gresham which is about 45 minutes from the mountain, so we did our grocery shopping while we were in town. By the time we got everything unloaded and showered we weren't in bed until past midnight. At least I don't have to go back into town and fight the crowds to do my shopping today. The other problem that kept us up so late were those damn carpenter ants. I can not tell you enough how gross they are. We came home to a good 20+ in the house. So we were busy squishing and vacuuming them up. The winged ones didn't seem to be as bad yesterday, so I am hoping that I will be able to enjoy this nice weather outside without getting attacked.
I wasn't able to get any knitting done yesterday. Between helping out in the classroom yesterday morning and getting ready for the game, the day went by fast. I was able to get some new batts done up and listed on Etsy. I also got my first order yesterday since getting back on Etsy. Thanks to Eco Chic Yarns! Enjoy your weekend!

My famous little sweater!

2009-05-29T06:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a great day! I got a call from David of Church and he told me that Portia de Rossi bought one of my cashmere sweaters!!!! I was so excited. Things are moving along quite well for them. They are not open full time to the public yet. They are just selling to VIP clients and buyers by appointment only. David and Rodney have put a lot of time and money into this store, so I am glad to hear that things are moving along and going well for them.
The weather has been absolutely beautiful the past two weeks here. No rain for two weeks!!! It has been wonderful. The kids have actually been wearing shorts to school.....SHORTS. Yesterday was our first day in the 80s. The downfall about that is when the temps hit that warm for the first time the carpenter ants come out. They are huge and so gross. Bugs usually don't freak me out but these ones give me the major willies. The ones with wings are really bad. They are everywhere and will fly right at you. It is so bad that you can not sit outside while they are around. Fortunately they are only around for a few weeks. I was bummed though as I was all ready for a nice day of knitting in the sun only to be attacked by these ants and running back inside. The FLS is coming along nicely and I am still enjoying knitting it. I am not moving along as quickly with it as I was hoping to. I am not sure if I will make my deadline of next Friday to have it finished. Even though the lace pattern is simple I have gotten off track a couple of times and had to pull a few rows back. Of course I have decided not to follow Lisa's advice and put a few stitch markers in throughout the row so I will catch my mistakes sooner then getting to the end of the row and realizing I am short or have an extra stitch. After getting off track a good 3x now I am going to be putting those markers in!!!
Today is our last game of the softball season. I can not believe how fast it has gone by. We have a final tournament next weekend and it will then be all over. Tyler and I have really enjoyed working with these kids and have had a blast. GO BLUE DIAMONDS!!!

FLS in cotton.....yes cotton!

2009-05-27T06:07:00.000-07:00

Can you believe I am actually knitting with my nemesis fiber cotton? Not only am I knitting with it, but I am actually enjoying it. Those of you who have been following my blog know that I am a wool girl through and through. I must admit I have been one in the past to really bash cotton and dread summer knitting because of it and it's fellow plant fiber friends. Not only am I knitting with cotton but I am also knitting a lace style cardigan.....I am really breaking all my rules here. Two of my Ravelry friends have knit the February Lady Sweater and both thoroughly enjoyed it. Not to mention they also both just raved about how fun this pattern was to knit, so of course I had to try for myself. Guess what? They were right. I am having so much fun knitting this little cardigan. I love how it is coming together from the top down and the lace pattern is a simple 7 st 4 row repeat that is easily memorized within the first few rows. As an added bonus that I did not expect, the lights finally came on for the ASJ!!!! I am so ready to re-visit the ASJ after I finish the FLS. The FLS is an adult size pattern that was adapted from EZ's baby size sweater. The designer gives you not only one option for increasing but recognizes another that will work as well. Finally I have realized what my problem was with the ASJ. Between that and a nice conversation with my friend Lisa who patiently hung in there with me on the phone until my dumbass realized what was going on. Thanks Lisa!!
Now back to that wonderful cotton I am working with. It is KnitPicks Shine. I am doing the sweater in Laurel. I am so happy with how it is knitting up. I am not having an issue with it splitting, like I usually do with cotton. I am only a few inches into the lace pattern but so far I don't feel that it is just weighed down with heavy cotton. The cotton is really holding it's shape. I would highly recommend it.
I had all intentions of knitting this sweater for myself. Once I got going and realized how much I enjoyed this pattern I am hoping to have it finished by the end of next week so I can give it to Merilee. Merilee is the head secretary at the Elementary school my kids go to. As you all know from following my blog my son Chapin has eczema and asthma that flares up sometimes during school. Merilee is the one who takes care of Chapin and gets him feeling better. The two of them have a very special relationship and Chapin absolutely adores her. She has always been a big supporter of my knitting. She is the one who would like me to knit 5 pairs of socks for her by Christmas. A couple of years ago she bought a bunch of hats from me for gifts. So if my schedule allows me to do not much else but knit away I should be able to have it done by the end of next week when school ends for the summer. Beings I am enjoying knitting this so much I will just make another one for myself.

Great weekend!

2009-05-26T09:53:00.000-07:00

Well I am coming out of a nice sunny relaxing weekend. We had a really nice visit with my folks and I am happy to report that I do believe my mom has gotten magic loop down. After a few "you are not a very good teacher" comments she ended up getting through the heel and gusset. Hopefully now that she is home she will be able to do it on her own. During all this teaching of socks I was able to finish the cash/merino pair from Joyuna. The colors are gorgeous and they feel wonderful. As I had mentioned earlier they were a bit loose for how I like to wear my socks, so I gave them to mom and her big size 10 feet!
I am happy to report that I listed some new batts on Etsy this morning. It has been really nice being back at the carder creating new colorways. I will continue to add new combos throughout the week. I am also offering free shipping to my blogger and twitter followers through June 15th. Just convo me with the discount code of Sootie and I will adjust your invoice.

4 day weekend!

2009-05-22T07:03:00.000-07:00

Yay I made it to the weekend! What a busy week. With the kids finishing up school and softball things have been quite busy for us. We have played 3 games already this week and are playing another tonight, trying to make up for all the rainouts. Chapin's eczema has flared up this week. Things have finally started to bloom up here on the mountain. The grass really bothers Chapin and having him running out on the ball fields all week definitely didn't help, so him and Tyler stayed home from last nights game. We had to play in Corbett which is a good hour from our house! Thank goodness the kids don't have school today, because it was a late night. My folks are on their way for a visit, so we are excited for that. Luckily the weather is supposed to be cooperating. They are calling for temperatures in the mid 70's all weekend so no complaints here.
I have also been busy this week carding up some new batts. It feels really good to be back on the carder creating new colorways. I should have them listed at the beginning of next week.
Have a great weekend and I will be back in touch next week!

Rain, batts, 1 crappy person and 5 great ones!

2009-05-19T06:55:00.000-07:00

Of course the dreaded R word is back. I just need the sun to stay around a bit longer. According to the forecast though we are only supposed to have rain today and then it should be nice through the weekend. We are supposed to have another softball game tonight, but I doubt that will be happening. The season is nearing an end and we have so many make up games to do due to the bad weather. It will definitely be a busy couple of weeks.
Things are once again changing a bit here at Hanks in the Hood with the sale of my batts. I am going to continue to sell an exclusively line to Paradise Fibers but I will also be adding new colorways and combinations to my Etsy store and website. As the recession continues and the economy is unstable, so is the future of the company my husband is working for. Tyler still feels secure about his employment, but being a stay at home mom I feel helpless and want to do all that I can to help build up our savings with the future being a bit unknown. I have spent a wonderful year working with Paradise Fibers and will continue to do so. They have been a great support and are continuing to want to help me succeed. I am grateful for the business relationship that I have with them. In addition to the exclusive line at Paradise Fibers I will continue to add new color and fiber combinations on my website and Etsy store. I am still continuing to knit for Church. Unfortunately as the temperatures rise in Los Angeles the need for wool drops. This summer will give me some much needed time to knit away for the upcoming fall and winter season.
I do have some unpleasant news to report. I have thought a lot about this situation and have finally decided to write a quick post about it and move on. I have worked with a few fellow spinners and knitters this past year to fill my order for Church. Most of these experiences have been wonderful and very enjoyable. Unfortunately one has resulted in an individual basically stealing $400 worth of fiber from me. We had an agreement in September that I hired this individual to spin some fiber for me. After numerous emails with this individual the past 9months I am realizing that I am not going to get that fiber back. Instead of dwelling on that one negative experience I will focus on the many wonderful people that I have worked with through the years. Brenda at Split Rock Ranch, Lisa Peacecat30, Beth at Whorling Tides, Joy at Joyuna, and Michelle at By My Side. I thank all of you for your honesty, support and friendship.

Gorgeous weekend!

2009-05-18T06:12:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful weekend we just had. I am still feeling the affects of it with sunburned and sore arms from all the yard work. After hours filled in the garden it is finally all coming together. Tyler had the idea to put in a fire pit and sitting area in the middle of the garden. It is so nice to have a nicely landscaped section of the yard that is free from dogs that we can sit and relax in.
My friend Kim and I went to the Farmer's Market this weekend. We had been getting organic vegetables delivered to us. Beings we live in the boonies they were not willing to deliver to us up here, so we would have them drop off the produce at Tyler's work. We were splitting their large box of produce between our two family's. Even though the produce tasted wonderful the two of us decided that for $30/week we would rather have more control over the produce we were getting. So we headed to the market this weekend. We were bummed though because there was hardly any fresh produce available yet. I guess we are going to have to wait until later into the season. We did however, luck out on buying some starts. Kim is just getting her garden going and I had one more box to fill up. My greatest find of the weekend though was a Honeycrisp tree!!!! I was so excited. They are the best apples ever and are only in stores for a short time at the end of summer beginning of fall. Even though our little tree won't be producing any apples for a couple of years, I am still thrilled! Unfortunately the nursery only had one left. I am hoping to find another one and our garden will be complete. We just need to level out the dirt in one more section and get the honeycrisp planted and we will be all done in the garden. Very nice and productive weekend.
On another note, I was asked to play on a co-ed softball team for the summer. We had our first practice last night and boy has it been awhile. The last time I played softball was in high school, which we won't even talk about how long ago that was. I was pleasantly surprised at how I did, but man does my arm hurt. By the end of practice I wasn't even able to throw the ball to the pitcher from the outfield. Tyler is also going to be playing, but as an alternate. Work is starting to become very busy for him so he wasn't able to commit 100% to the team.
I am extremely excited this morning as high speed internet is finally coming to Rhododendron. FINALLY. A neighbor of ours has been providing a wireless connection to about 100 of us for the past year. He put in a t-1 line that broadcasts a signal the way a wireless cafe would. It is a lot better then dial-up, but has still caused me quite a few problems. It is still very slow and con be pretty unreliable, which becomes very stressful when you sell online. So after this morning I will be up and running on a high speed connection. The best part is we will be paying as much for this new connection as we have been for the slower connection through my neighbor.
I have a very busy week going on with softball. We have 4 games this week, trying to make up for all the rain outs. The season is nearing the end as we are done at the end of the month. My folks are also coming down for a visit this weekend. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the rain stays away and the sun is shining while they are here. Mom has been working on a pair of socks using the magic loop technique. The last few times I have talked to her she has been a bit frustrated. Of course this is occurring at the heel and gusset. So I am hoping that we can get her all straightened out by the end of the weekend. Other then that I don't imagine that I will get much knitting in this week, unfortunately. I am still finishing up my order for Spun Out. I also got some great discount fibers in this weekend so be sure to check my site as I will be listing them throughout the week.

2009-05-15T09:56:00.000-07:00

Joy of Joyuna tagged me in her blog post for this survey. Here I go.

8 Things I'm Looking Forward to:
1. More Tattoos
2. Having my own Harley
3. Taking a long trip to Ireland with my husband
4. Winning the stock market/lottery.
5. Seeing my best friend Briana again.
6. Having the kids stay with Grammee for a week in July!!!!!!
7. Eating from our garden
8. Finishing up all the work on our house.

8 Things I Did Yesterday:
1. Pilates
2. Cleaned out the stash and got bummed
3. Had to drink some gin because of being bummed over de-stashing
4. Went to a PTCO meeting because the Superintendant was there talking about all the budget cuts and changes.
5. Played with fiber.
6. Twittered, blogged, and listed fiber on Ebay.
7. Shipped out fiber.
8. Canceled our softball game because the fields were under water

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:
1. Finish the damn ASJ.
2. Be happy with only having one knitting project going on at a time.
3. Have Ceasar come and train my 3 blue heelers to be perfect and get along.
4. Control my temper so I could learn to snowboard.
5. Have my husband be at home with me and the kids.
6. Spin, knit, and make soap with Lisa.
7. Eat and drink what I want and have Pamela Anderson's figure.
8. Go to school at Hogwarts.

Some of my favorite blogs that I've tagged are:
Whorling Tides
By My Side
Hooked in the Sound
Peacecat this n that

(If you don't participate in memes, I understand. No pressure ;)

Ho Hum

2009-05-14T16:16:00.001-07:00

It has been one of those weeks where I feel as if I have been running around like crazy, but not really accomplishing anything. I am sure this horrible weather has me in a bit of a funk. We had 4 games scheduled this week and have only been able to play one due to the weather. That cuts up your whole day because you don't find out until 3pm or so if you are playing or not.
I spent a lot of time at the beginning of the week dying bamboo to fill the order for Spun Out. I am still working on finishing up their batts. I have spent a lot of time once again going through the fiber stash and trying to purge some stuff on Ebay. It never ceasts to amaze me how I can hold onto all of this fiber and still just not want to sell it. All part of the addiction.
I am still working on the cash/merino socks. I am on the second one and almost to the heel. Unfortunately they fit a little bit looser on me then I like, so I will not be keeping them. Which is fine because I have 5 that I am supposed to knit for the secretary at school. She was nice enough to order them at the end of winter so I could have plenty of time to finish them by this coming Christmas. God did I say that? I am actually working on Christmas presents now! Well just a quick post to let you all know I am still around, just nothing too exciting to report.

Mother's day of yardwork.

2009-05-11T16:30:00.001-07:00

We took advantage of a small break from the rain and got some more work done on the garden. Tyler is working on putting another bed in. By the end of the weekend he had it all finished. If the rain stops during the week I will be filling it up with dirt and starts. We have decided to landscape the pathways in between the beds with filbert shells. They are really nice and light to work with. They also feel really good when you walk on them. It is just nice to get rid of the grass and mud and have some pathways to walk on. All and all we had a great relaxing family weekend at home. It finished up wonderfully last night as I worked on my cash/merino socks for a few hours before going to bed. I made it past the heel on the first sock and I'm heading for the toes.
I am happy to announce that Hanks in the Hood will now be available in Australia! As you all know I have an exclusive agreement with Paradise Fibers that they are the only ones I will sell my batts too. A few months ago I was approached by an Australian company that was interested in selling my batts as well. After talking with Paradise they agreed to allow me to sell my batts overseas. You may have heard of The Wool Shack. The same owners are adding a fiber division called Spun Out. They will be launching their site in the next month. I am very excited to be working on my first order for them!

Knitting ADD

2009-05-08T09:25:00.000-07:00

I still can't shake this damn ASJ. It has me all bothered and I was all out of whack yesterday with my knitting. I was all over the place finsihing and starting a ton of different things. I ended up finishing Tyler's socks, so that was great. He was very happy with them. I don't want any smart ass comments either about how they are not very manly and have purple in them. This has been an ongoing debate in my house and I am losing. It is hard to find a fun sock yarn to knit that is manly. I knit a very simple basic sock so to avoid boredom I must knit in a variety of colors and patterns. After knitting Chapin the plain black sock I fear that the men in my life are doomed with funky patterned socks. Manly or not he was thrilled that I actually made him something that didn't go on his head. I told him not to get used to it though because he is still not getting a sweater out of me. Not that I wouldn't love to knit Tyler a sweater but he is and big broad guy who is constantly hot. Need I say more. I also ended up starting another sweater for Church. Which I do want to clear up for some of my new readers.....Church is the name of the store that I am knitting for in Los Angeles. Anyways I have had this pattern in my head and some yarn ready to knit it with. I sat down yesterday and drew out the pattern and knit the gauge and decided that that particular fiber was all wrong for what I wanted that sweater to turn out like. So I re-vamped things a bit and came up with a better suited sweater for the fiber, knit a few rows of it and decided that I must start on a pair of cashmerino socks for myself. The yarn that I ordered from Joy came a couple of days ago. It is dyed beautifully and a pleasure to knit with. I can not wait to have me feet in these. So that was my day of knitting ADD. ASJ will have to wait another day.

Walking away from the ASJ!

2009-05-07T14:00:00.000-07:00

After an anxiety ridden evening that eventually was taken out on my husband to a morning filled with piss and vinegar in an email to my friend Lisa, I have decided that it is best for not only myself but the people around me if I was to just set the ASJ aside for a little bit. THIS IS NOT DEFEAT. The sweater will not go into the UFO box of almost no return. It will sit out in plain sight reminding me on a daily basis that I need to conquer it. Having knit the BSJ in no time at all, I just can't get over the fact that I can not seem to do anything right on the ASJ. I am convinced in that for some horrible reason the Universe does not want me to knit a sweater for myself. I have spent all winter long not wearing a new sweater. The only thing I have knit for myself have been 2 pairs of socks and neither of them fit me right! I have cranked out numerous sweaters for Church and a few little things for my kids and family. They have all worked out just fine. Now that I am finally taking the time to treat myself to a little something, it just isn't happening. For today I am working on designing a sweater for Church. I have also decided that as my ASJ sits laughing at me that I am going to start one for Riley. I am going to start all over put the damn video in that I have for the BSJ and knit one for Riley. At least this way I won't have 243 sts that I am working on and won't become so unjoyable to be around when I have to rip them out. I will end this post by letting you know that this was extremely difficult to write without putting any curse words in.

Rain, dye, and of course the ASJ

2009-05-06T14:51:00.001-07:00

The rain will not stop. It is ridiculous! We have not had softball all week and I won't even mention the pools of water that are filling up in the garden. The only good thing about all this doom and gloom is it is very easy to just stay inside and work on fiber! I have been dying like crazy. From superwash merino, to black cashmere, and some fun Kool-aid mohair locks. Riley has been my little helper. The lime green, purple, and yellow superwash roving that is pictured was all her! I told her that I would make us a pair of matching socks out of it. The other black blob pictured is the wonderful cashmere I have been going on and on about. Now that it has dried I can see a few spots that didn't take the dye as well. Of course I have run out of black dye so I can't fix it right now. I suppose that is ok beings I have another sweater in my head to start working on for Church. The yarn is already spun up so now I just need to start designing and get that gauge. I have finished all of the decreasing in the ASJ. I hate to admit but I am a bit nervous that it is not long enough. I have set it aside for the time being so I can try and ask on the Ravelry group if what I have done is right. It is only measuring in at 7in and now I am supposed to be at the underarm where I start increasing back up to all those 243 sts. God help me if this isn't right. I think EZ may win and I will just have to say goodbye to the ASJ. Please send thoughts of me being right on course with my ASJ and some sun!!!

Rain, wind and up all night.

2009-05-05T09:25:00.000-07:00

You would think that it was the middle of winter the way the weather acted last night. I had a horrible nights sleep thanks to a combination of my acid reflux and the crazy wind and pouring rain. I am so stressed out about my little seedlings and starts that we planted on Sunday. It is still just pouring out and I am too afraid to look at the garden. All I could think when the wind was howling was there goes my tomatoe plants.

Happy Monday

2009-05-04T16:25:00.000-07:00

We made some major headway this weekend on the garden. We bought some starts and got them planted as well as some seeds and some of the seeds we started inside. We are doing a bit of an experiment this year to see what works for us and what doesn't. Living in the mountains you never know what the weather is going to do. Our biggest challenge though is the big tall trees we live amongst which limits the amount of sunshine we get. Regardless we are all having a ton of fun. This garden has truly been a family project and already has brought us all a ton of joy. I do have to give most of the credit to Riley and Tyler though. They are the two that have put in the most hours getting it all ready. Chapin and I have great intentions and after working in the yard for a few hours things like knitting, fiber, legos, and Nintendo ds start to call our names and we find ourselves back inside working on our projects.
On the knitting front ASJ is coming along quite nicely. We watched a couple of movies this weekend and I knit through both of them on it. It is moving along quickly right now because I have almost made it to the underarm and have decreased quite a few of those 243 original sts. At the underarm I will climb back up and start increasing again, but for now it is moving along quite nicely. Boredom has not set in yet. I must admit after a year of knitting for someone else and having to design all my patterns it has been really nice to just sit and follow a pattern for myself. No boredom here.
Today has been a productive day on the dying front. I finally took the plunge and dyed some cashmere. I have been so intimidated by dying the oh so expensive cashmere in fear of ruining it. Not to mention Church is asking for black cashmere. Black is not the easiest color to make come out evenly. Surprisingly the cashmere took the color very well. I had to over dye a bit of each skein in a few spots but I am pretty happy with how the color turned out. I will be posting some pictures as soon as it dries.
I also splurged this weekend and treated myself to some wonderful cashmere sock yarn. I have been following Joy's blog as she has been talking about this wonderful cashmere sock yarn she has been working with. She posted some gorgeous colorways on Etsy and I just couldn't resist the Beach Surf. I can't wait to treat myself to another about time project.