Blue Baudelaires...and yarn for sale

Look! Finished objects! And only ripped and redone once ;)

Knit from yarn left over from my Swallowtail. Full details, as usual, are available over here at the Finished Objects Blog

While I'm directing you hither and yon, I should also mention I did list the Tropical Sea yarn in the shop, but I apparently forgot to activate it. Oops. It's there now for the taking ;)

There are a total of three skeins available, 2 in a DK weight (linked above) and one in sport weight.

While I'm showing yarn for sale, don't forget to check the Stash Redistribution Blog...there is a bunch of stuff over there.
-SWTC Gianna, Karaoke, Pagoda, Melody,Optimum and Optimum DK and Twize
-Skacel Fuego
-Reynolds Lite Lopi
-Heirloom Aristocrat
-Cascade 220
-Berocco Uxbridge Tweed
-and a bunch of others.

Knit from the Stash.

I love Ravelry! It's still in beta, but they are slowly letting more and more people join - it's a fantastic way to organize and keep track of projects and project notes...and your stash.

Because I'm such a sucker for organizational tools, I took the opportunity to load in my previous projects as well as my stash.

Now, I've been knitting from my stash for quite some time. I know that I have a lot of yarn....I did not realize just how much yarn I have. Needless to say, after cataloguing yarn - only the full balls, mind you - none of the remnants or reclaimed yarns nor any of the cones that I have laying around (yes, cones) nor does it include any of my own handspun - I have approximately 70 different yarns in the stash - some are the same, with different colorways, but not as many as I expected. I haven't been brave enough to try the excel export yet.

Anyhow, there are an awful lot of yarns that could do well in someone else's stash, so I have taken the opportunity to list em up over on the Stash Reduction blog. If you like something just send me a note via the "contact me" link in the sidebar. In the meantime, I'm going to try to figure out what all I should queue up :) I have a big stash to knit thru!

More OPK!

I am always amazed when I spend time with the Luscious Gracious Clan - they all knit, and they all knit together :) It certainly doesn't hurt that they like to knit with my yarn ;) Check their blog for their creative creations - and make sure you check their sidebar for all kinds of additional goodness.

All of the members of the family are prolific knitters, the above is just a small sampling - from a baby hat in Globe Mallow in a unique parallelogram stitch pattern, to a pair of hats from Domiknitrix: Whip Your Knitting into Shape, to a wonderful scarf to a completely original top down sweater...did you know, it only took two skeins of Sylph to knit that lovely sweater?!

Freshly Buttoned...

For the longest time, I have been using this button in my sidebar...while it conveys the idea of yarn, hopefully handpainted, and in my own "favorite" color, though you'd never know it by looking at what's in the shop - which, for some reason, seems to trend to pinks and greens. I don't know what it is, but somehow, every time I set aside time to dye, I wind up with an awful lot more pinks and greens...

Anyhow, I now have a new logo, and a new button to go along with it! She doesn't really lend herself to small buttons, but I am rather pleased with her. So far, she's unnamed, going by Sassy Sprite - she was designed by a friend of mine who loves to draw. I've been looking for a Sprite of sorts to represent the shop for some time, but I'm personally a little lacking in the illustration department. I adore the fact that she is happily clasping a yarn ball!

Anyhow, either button can be used to link to Spritely Goods - all I ask is that you save it to your own server. If you need help or instructions on how to do this, please let me know and I'll do my best to help you out :)

Carb Loading...

Well, not really ;) though the running is coming along (slowly - I'm still relegated to jog/walk intervals while I try to figure out if my shoes are dead, and while I bide my time for my new orthotics to arrive)...

I had a rare non-dye weekend at home, and was thinking of baking some bread...but I wasn't relishing having the oven on for the length of time it takes to bake the bread. Conversations with Raquel the Enabler, got me thinking of possibly doing it on the grill....but since I've not cooked or baked anything on the grill yet, I figured I should try something a little easier...


Pizza! (sorry, we ate the grilled one before I managed to get a photo of it with its lovely grill marks). I love my stand mixer - it made quick work out of making the dough :)

Read on for my comments.

Willows, Pottery and Leather....

Sounds like I'm redecorating, doesn't it?

Actually, willows, pottery and leather are the traditional (and modern) gifts for a ninth anniversary :) I, of course, ignored it all and opted for tech-fabric. And my husband ignored it all in favor of a lovely potted plant (that I certainly hope the cat keeps his little teeth from - he seems to have a thing for tasting the greenery in the house). Apparently there are other surprises in store, but he's not saying what :)

It's an Ice Cream kind of day.

Good thing it's free scoop day at Haagen Dazs ;)
Actually, it's New Flavor Day so your scoop is limited to one of two flavors...but still...it's ice cream :) who could complain about that?!

Celebrating Project Spectrum

Pinks Greens and Yellows - the color triad for Project Spectrum for April and May. If you want to find out more about what each of the items are in the photo above, visit its flickr page.

I've been surprised this month - I honestly did not realize quite how much pink or green I had in the Shop! I had noticed that I seem to be trending towards the greens an awful lot with the dyework, and it's one of the colors I am always fascinated by out here in the desert. While we don't have much of the "bright" greens, there are plenty of greens to be seen, even more so if all the elevation ranges are included. They say in some places of Arizona, just due to the elevation changes, it can be like seeing life zones all the way from Mexico to Canada!

I'm really enjoying Project Spectrum because it's really opened my attention to colors all around me!

I must be getting old...

because I am wishing I could visit this shop.

Seriously, I've been anxiously waiting for my vacuum cleaner to kick it so I can get a new one :) I keep thinking between the dust bunnies, fur balls and wool bits, it surely should have decided to go to the big vacuum repair shop in the sky....but nooo....

Another thing I covet is the Nature Mill - though what I'd do with all that compost is beyond me. I got interested in it after doing a whole mess of googling on indoor composting as I can't have an outdoor compost heap - the idea of messing around with worms was wigging me out, so I was pretty excited when I stumbled across the Nature Mill - though I will admit, worms would be much more economical....

OPK

What on earth is OPK? OPK is other people's knitting :)
Spring must be in the air as two projects have been photographed and emailed to me - both, serendipitously, in the Spring is Here colorway!

The first, is a pair of socks in Fey, knit by Naomi - the pattern is Tropicana from Magknits. I love how the colors came together :) nice and ripply - just gorgeous.


The second lovely Spring is Here goodness is a scarf - knit from two skeins of the Sprite DK/Sport weight yarn. This wonderful scarf was knit by Lalana - she has angora bunnies...so anyone who has a need for angora wool, go pay her a visit - I hear she's harvesting bunny fluff for selling - very few guardhairs she tells me :) I'm still working through a rather large purchase of angora fluff otherwise I'd be all over it!


Both photos are featured in the Shop Gallery - and of course, if you have finished objects knit with Spritely Goods please feel free to point me in the right direction! I'd love to see it :)

As the heel turns...

In addition to moving forward with the all clear to run (or wog in my case) on the treadmill, eventually to move to pavement and outdoor running (though that's not likely any time soon just because the summer appears to have made an appearance)... the tendinitis is also diminishing!

I picked up the knitting, and after reacquainting myself with my location in the chart, I happily turned the heels on these socks :D

Incidentally, I've also been knitting on some sleeves (though I apparently have a long way to go yet!) but they don't look very exciting, what with them being miles and miles of stockinette ;)

a Duck in the Desert?

While I have indeed seen mallards and herons and other waterfowl (even a misplaced pelican!), I had thought this was more of a recent thing with the "developed" waterways out here.

Apparently, there were indeed ducks, or something that looked an awful lot like a duck out here a long time ago, as there is a petroglyph of one out here.

I will admit, this is the only duck petroglyph I've ever seen. It is certainly unique and different. Incidentally, out of all the other petroglyphs in the area, this was the only duck or bird that I saw.

More interestingly, the duck wasn't on its own - it's actually a part of a panel of petroglyphs that feature a human-like figure, along with at least a pair of deer. I say at least a pair because there seems to be a faint deer in the background that I really didn't notice when I took the original photo. I admit it was difficult to really see the panel very well as the sun shining strongly on it, making it so I nearly missed it completely!

Baa Baa Black Sheep...Have You any Wool?

Yes ma'am, yes ma'am way more than three bags full!

In addition to getting in a whole slew of new products last month, from wonderful bamboo tools for knitting and crochet as well as for your kitchen to wonderfully soft merino wool yarns from Malabrigo to an adorable postcard that features a little lamb on yarny hills - it's perfect to use to send greetings or thanks to another yarn lover - mail it as a postcard, or pop it in an A5-sized envelope!

Of course, in addition to hunting down new product, I wouldn't have been doing my job if I wasn't keeping up with the dyework ;) I've been getting a workout moving the dyepot around, and the house has been filled with the smell of wet vinegary sheep. The dust-bunnies and fur-balls from the cats blowing their coats have been joined by bits of wool (my poor vacuum cleaner has been earning its keep!)...and the shop has been updated.

In case you're wondering, this last update was the biggest one yet...with over twenty-two pounds of fiber being dyed. Any guesses as to how many trader joes bags that is? Well, I already gave away the fact that it's quite a bit more than three...I will admit that the bins I currently have for storing skeined yarn and prepared fibers are not sufficient to contain it all. The bins are full to overflowing, and I've had to do up some make-shift containers to hold it all in an organized manner...now of I could only figure out how to use all this yarn to add to the insulation of my house ;)

By the way, the people who have subscribed to the newsletter generally get a few hours head start on the browsing - so take some time to sign up for the newsletter if you're interested. All email addresses are kept confidential, and updates are sent about once a month.


So...Any guesses?





Well, if you guessed seven, then you're way better at estimating that I was :) And yes, there is one whole bag of newly dyed spinning fibers in addition to all that yarn!

Cruise over to the shop to check it all out!

Hoping for a Bumper Crop!

Perfect for Project Spectrum - The prickly pears in my backyard have exploded into bloom.

From their immature pink buds with fuchsia and golden tipped spines (the ones photographed were from the wild, and not my backyard), to the lovely green of the pads to the lovely golden flowers - all the colors of the April-May Triad are present!

With all my prickly pears bursting with buds or flowers, I'm hoping for a bumper crop of fruit this summer. Unfortunately my prickly pears aren't terribly diverse genetically - I have a couple purple prickly pears and a bunch of Engelmann's Prickly pears - unfortunately, all the Engelmann's are from the same parent, so I'm not sure if I'll be getting fruit or not...


The blooms on the purple prickly pear seem to be more clear and purely yellow...

While those of the Engelmann's Prickly Pear seem to have a faint orange blush to them.

If you've never had an opportunity to taste prickly pear fruit, it's quite tasty (once you get past the spines ;) ) and it has a stunning vibrant fuchsia color. I was lucky enough to have received a jar of prickly pear jam last year from a friend - and since then, I've been tempted to see if I might be able to cook my own, but I've never been lucky enough to have a big enough "crop" of fruit - perhaps I'll be luckier this year!

Chop Chop!

Just in time - I'm finally getting rid of my blechy cutting boards and am replacing them with bamboo ones :) I even have one just for cheese. mmmm cheese.

Incidentally, since I'm now carrying my own bamboo needles and hooks, I'm also picking up a line of eco-friendly cutting boards. Unfortunately, I don't have the bi-colored ones right now, though you can get those here.

In the spirit of full disclosure, these boards are imported and sold by my family.

W5D1 MAF 3.9 0.0

When we last heard from our pink clad alter ego she was forced into a break from all things running due to ridiculously painful shin splints. Well, here we are, almost three months of physical therapy, an x-ray and a bone scan later, and I've been given the all clear to play nice with the Dreadmill.

Who would have thought I would ever be excited to be able to play nicely with a treadmill?! It's the sick and twisted mind of a runner at work, I tell you. Anyhow, I've been told to get back into running slowly, so I figured revisiting the C25k program may be in order. That, combined with my happy heart rate monitor, along with cross training (I don't know what kind yet), will hopefully keep me injury free.

So, to decode the above, it's the Week and Day (in this case, week 5, day 1) of the program followed by the speed and incline on the treadmill that seems to keep me at or near my selected training zone. I am currently attempting to follow the Maffetone method - with a target HR of somewhere between 143 and 148 bpm. Needless to say I am a little frustrated because I find it a smidge depressing how slow I have to go to maintain my heart rate within the targeted zone. Ah well, it's been proven to work, so while I'll never be a speed demon, I should see improvement!

Spring Brings New Things!

Spring means renewal, refreshment and other new things :)

Incidentally, I have a bunch of new items at Spritely Goods. I'm supplementing my own handdyes with wonderful Malabrigo...I've added some wonderful patterns from the talented Cookie A. In addition, I am launching a line of postcards and stationary items featuring Spritely Goods products - the first features the little Lambkin frolicing on chaparral and palo verde yarn hills. Finally, I'm also excited to announce my own personal line of bamboo needles and hooks!

Hop on over, have a look, and feel free to leave me comments on things you'd like to see in the future.

Tropical Sea

While I've been taking my hiatus from knitting, I've been spending more time with my spinning.

I've always loved looking at tropical fish, with their bright colors and exotic looks - I think this yarn captures the gorgeous colors of a tropical reef.

A little more info and more photos can be found here.

Happy Earth Day!

Today is Earth Day - it's been good to see and hear the local media talk especially about climate change and particularly about the local air quality (or lack thereof) today, and I only hope that the discussions continue and aren't just because today is Earth Day.

One of the things I have done to try to reduce personal energy consumption was to change over as many lightbulbs as I have personal control over to compact fluorescent bulbs - so far, even after having many of these bulbs installed for years, not a one has burned out or gone dim. I recently found out though, that compact fluorescent bulbs should not be disposed of as normal garbage as they do contain mercury.

It does seem like more and more places are creating Compact Fluorescent Recycling just based on some quick googling.

Check out Earth911 for a comprehensive listing of various recycling facilities by zip code.

Did you File?

...for your Burrito Refund?
No joke - apparently Chipotle is celebrating Tax Day by offering those patrons that purchased burritos over the weekend to get a free one today!


And if you're looking for other free eats, tomorrow is Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry's :)



As for me, I did indeed get my taxes done...though the State is apparently ridiculously behind in the processing - they are still processing returns that were mailed in at the beginning of last month. Perhaps it's a hint that I should be e-filing instead.