A Chinese Xmas with A Side of Twisted Loop

Only a few days before Christmas. It's amazing how time flies. Yes I still have a few last minute projects but of course it's nothing like previous years. Maybe that it's the fact that I enjoy sleeping when I can now (to a certain extent), or that I would like to be able to enjoy knitting after Christmas rather than having to take 4 months off to recover. This year's celebration is a bit laid back which is nice to know. The huge celebrations are fun occasionally but being put into a drunken stooper from all the food, people, and exhaustion after the fact isn't my idea of fun. This year for instance we are going to dinner with Max's parents on Christmas eve and my parents are coming over for Chinese food on Christmas afternoon. Pajama's are optional but highly encouraged.
Since August I have been teaching and helping out at one of the local yarn shops. Most knitters never see the inner workings of a yarn shop and so I see it as a unique adventure that has taught me so much. Fixing issues and showing knitters that knitting a hat backwards really doesn't work has actually helped my own knitting as well. I have to admit teaching is my absolute favorite part. Seeing a student's face when that light bulb moment occurs makes it all worth it. Starting in just a few weeks there is a total of 9 classes I have going on to help pay for the upcoming knitting retreat in Canada! While I know some people would say that it's Canada.... not Italy, or somewhere across the ocean, I am still excited because it will be my first time to physically be outside of the country. Oh yeah, and I have to get a passport... wooooo hooo! I am already practicing the Canadian anthem so I can start singing it the second we cross the border. This is big people, very big. My great friend Judith and I are going to Tophino at Middle Beach Lodge Resort for a knitting retreat with knitwear designer Amy Swenson. Check out the pics here...http://www.middlebeach.com/. I started drooling the second I saw it and it's an amazing deal compared to some knitting retreats that are in the thousands just for the classes. So in the mean time I must teach, teach, and teach again to save up money to head north.

One of the many things on my list of to-do's this upcoming year is finally get more of my patterns down on paper to sell. It's a whole different mindset to go from knitting it to actually having to write it. Luckily with being apart of the yarn shop I now have a great source to sell my patterns through. Plus I am working on getting them online but the site didn't want to cooperate with me tonight. Here is the first of many for anyone and everyone that would like to take a look. The next step is to print it and have it in the store as a hard copy. Here is the link for the pattern.... Twisted Loop Cowl. Hopefully there are more to come.

Finally a quick note to my husband, Max. I just don't know what I would do without you. Thank you for being next to me during the hard times with a hug and a kiss telling me all with be alright. You do so much without question and telling you thank you will never be enough. I love you!

Happy holidays to all my friends and family!

Ovate shawl #2

Ovate shawl #2
Originally uploaded by maxandlindsey

Ovate shawl #2 blocking right now

Ovate shawl #1

Ovate shawl #1
Originally uploaded by maxandlindsey

Ovate shawl #1 blocking as we speak

My First Single Ply!

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Originally uploaded by maxandlindsey

So I figured it was time to get beyond the single ply making nerves and just do it. So here is my first single ply yarn I spun yesterday. I absolutely love the colors!

On the bobbin...

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Originally uploaded by maxandlindsey

Working on some superwash merino in a laceweight size as we speak. This is my first one this size and it seems like it is taking forever to fill the bobbin!

Tour De Fleece Day 3: Navajo Plying

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Originally uploaded by maxandlindsey

So I have only navajo plyed a couple times before doing those of these but I think I am finally getting the hang of it. Both of these are wool yarns and I'm not sure of the yardage yet. Luckily after months and months of slacking, all of my bobbins on my spinning wheel are finally empty and ready for more Tour de Fleece spinning butt kicking!

Tour De Fleece Day One

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Originally uploaded by maxandlindsey

I am currently in the midst of a spinning competition called the Tour de Fleece. You spin each day of the Tour de France and turn in your daily projects. There are prizes involved! Enough said. So after day one I have spun enough fiber to fill the two bobbins shown in the photo and I will be navajo plying them shortly into full fledged yarn. I will post pics once they are done. Then on to more spinning, and kicking butt!

Crazy Knits- Week 1

In my many hours of searching the internet for knitting patterns, yarn, and other ideas to try out I sometimes stumble across those knitting projects that make you either laugh, or wonder what the hell they were thinking. Now I will admit I have had a few of those odd projects which have never seen the light of day but you will never see the pictures, that I quickly burned. So I have decided to start a new piece to my blog in which we show off some of the knitting projects that will make you either laugh or cry showing themselves off across the internet.

So here is the first in what I hope are many crazy knits shown off here on the blog.

So are you need of a instant clown mask? If so we have the one for you! I seriously hated clowns before but this one may haunt me in my dreams. Granted there were many other crazy knits, but this one is just down right creepy.

Have a picture of a crazy or unique knitting project? Let's see it!

Heaven Can Wait 2011

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Originally uploaded by maxandlindsey

The proud moment after my mom and dad passed the finishline at the Heaven Can Wait 3k walk for breast cancer this past weekend here in Bend. This was only a few days after celebrating my mom's 51st birthday, my mom and dad's anniversary, and being a breast cancer survivor since being diagnosed one year ago. I couldn't be prouder of my mom's fight this past year and she has become a hero in my eyes. Congrats you two!

Crafty Business

I have slowly been working on creating my etsy.com site, full of crafty items that I can make and sell from home. It has always been a dream of mine to some day have a yarn shop with a cute little bakery inside with tons of cushy chairs for people to come in and knit with a yummy treat. So with that in mind I figured I better start small to slowly get my name out there. As of this moment I have a handful of items ranging from sewn project bags (yes, I said sewn!), jewelry, and handmade yarn. Lately I have been working on dying fiber in a range of different colors then carding them to sell the batts on the site. Just yesterday I made a trip with one of my good knitting buddies, Judith, to pick up fiber that I had dropped off with a fiber mill to get it processed so it was ready to sell. It turned out beautiful (so much I might just have to keep one for myself) and I am going to turn around and list it on the site to sell as ready to spin fiber, then also hand spin some to sell as handmade yarn. In no way is this a very profitable business, something I have come to terms with. But if this could expand to the point that I am able to bring a bit of money in from being crafty, then I have done my job. The biggest thing is getting your name out there and carrying a variety that people are interested in. This is where the crafty side of me loves trying out odd things that may not be the norm, but will draw people in especially when I am set up at a booth and need to draw in the crowd. Thanks to my wonderful husband who is so supportive in my crafty path, I have been able to start working on expansion of the amount of fiber I am able to dye as well as getting the items I need to create beautiful fiber that is ready to sell. So today after a little excursion with my "little sister" from Big Brothers/Big Sisters I plan on focusing on the etsy site to see what kind of business I can stir up at Snowball Knits and Designs.