A Kid in a Candy Store

I'm not sure how life could get any better.  Have you ever been dreaming about a knitting project and wished you could make up you own yarn?  You'll have to check out Yarnia and you won't have to keep dreaming. They have a multitude of fibers and colors for you to choose from and at a price that is very reasonable!  Be sure to watch the video to see the process of making cones of your very own yarn.  It could be your signature yarn!

Running out of time!

I have a lot of work to do to get my taxes done and got zero done today.  I put the kitchen back together and finished the laundry -- phew!  Spring cleaning done in the Spring!  It was 81ºF today -- beautiful day.

I went to the yarn shop to knit with the ladies this afternoon and finished my Sneaky Sheep Swap item.  No clues, no pictures -- you'll have to wait until Tuesday night, once I've given it away.

Here are some pictures of the Moss Agate Shawl that I finished up in New Jersey:

I used a skein each of Colinette Point 5 and Rowan Kid Silk Haze.  I used size 17 needles so it was a bit clumsy and slower than you'd think.  It's going in my inventory stash for the Fall shows.

As promised, here are a couple of items I purchased last Saturday at the Hook-In:

A hooked sheep pin made by Kris Miller of Spruce Ridge Studios

And a maple bowl made by the husband of my hooking friend Connie.  It's a really small bowl, maybe 4" across but it's adorable, just like the sheep pin!

And with that, I'm off to do some receipt scanning in preparation of Schedule C for my taxes.  It's a busy week ahead with both the knitting and quilting guilds meeting, so there won't be a lot of spare time for taxes.  I sure do wish I'd made more headway today.  But....taxes aren't due until a week from tomorrow so I should be able to get them filed on time, right???

Duh Winning!

Not trying to keep up with Mr. Sheen, but I hit the jackpot today with the plumber Kevin had found.  He was prompt, good, and cheap.  When was the last time you said that about a plumber?  I even told Todd I had never met a plumber I liked until he showed up.

Todd snaked out the kitchen line and was done in about 20 minutes.  Everything is working great now and I've washed a bunch of dishes and several loads of clothes/towels/rugs.  I'm trying a new-to-me laundry soap from Method,  It comes in a really small bottle with a pump dispenser and you only need 4 squirts per wash load -- too darn handy!

I got a new floor mat for the kitchen sink (too many blotches of sewage yuck on the old one), a new dish drainer, and roll out organizers for under the sink.  The area has to dry out a bit so tomorrow I'll put it all back together and take a photo.

I went to the anniversary sale at Ewe-Nique Knits and picked up some sale yarn and a new sweater pattern.  It's called Lily Cardigan and it's a top-down, which I l-o-v-e.  I chose an oak shade of Elsebeth Lavold's "Silky Wool" and I think it will be a versatile sweater when it's done.

Unfortunately, before I can begin knitting this sweater I HAVE to get my taxes done.  They're due on 4/18 this year but I don't want to get too close to the deadline.  Normally I have them completed long before the deadline, but all of my left brain energy has been spent learning my new job.  If I don't have my taxes done by next Saturday, I'll be filing an extension - something I've never done before.  So if you need me tomorrow, I'll be in my craft room, pouring over my taxes!

We now return....

....to our regularly scheduled blogging.

I don't like when I miss blogging.  Even if no one even reads my prose, I still enjoy getting thoughts out of my head and onto paper cyberspace.  Several days on the road left me unable to write and that just led to clutter in my poor little head.

Last Saturday I attended the Hook In in Ann Arbor with my friends Jackie and Kate, and about 300 other hookers.  I bet you had no idea there was such interest in rug hooking but I assure you, that place was full of rabid, enthusiastic hookers.  The vendors were kept busy all day.  Because there are so few local shops to help enable hookers with their craft, everyone comes to the hook in ready to open up their wallets and help the small businesses who bring their wonderful wares.  I don't have pictures of the things I bought but hopefully I'll take some photos tomorrow and share them with you.  

Here's a shot of Jackie (the hooking new-bie) and Kate:

I got about 1/4 of the way around the Lighthouse rug with my corded binding but don't have a picture of my progress.  In the meantime, here are some of the rugs other hookers brought for all to enjoy:

So much creativity, right?  I liked the fireplace screen with the clever board it was mounted to.  The chicken rug is much nicer than my homely chicken rug.  And isn't Polly Minick's Pledge of Allegiance rug great?!

Tomorrow is a monthly Thrums & Chums meeting in Brighton but I'll have to miss it so that I can be here when the plumber shows up to fix the kitchen pipe debacle.  Pray for me that he can fix it fast and cheap!

Ugh

I know I've been MIA lately (thanks for missing me Kim!).  You wouldn't believe why.  Then again, maybe you would.  I went to New Jersey.  On business.  But almost didn't.  Continental tried to change a Sunday flight out to Tuesday at 3 PM.  I was flying back from NJ at 8 PM on Tuesday.  Right, didn't make sense to me either.  Should have driven instead of flown.  Switched me to a Delta flight out -- bad turbulence, you should see the wicked bruise on my hip.  Bright side -- at least there were no gaping holes in the ceiling.  Rental car -- KIA Soul (horrible blind spots).  Took scenic route to Hoboken.  Nice to know that Michigan's roads are NOT the worst.  Had a lovely brunch with my niece at Amanda's.  Great story -- maybe later.

Went to NJ for work.  Met my new team.  Got grilled by my new team.  Hmmm. 8 PM flight home -- arrived at Newark at 5 PM, ate lousy dinner (remind me to eat OUTSIDE of the airport next time), knit and knit.  No plane.  Kept looking outside terminal, still no plane.  FINALLY at 8:30 we flew out.  My driver AKA my roommate picked me up from the airport, late, with no gas left in my car.  Got home at midnight, not my finest hour.  Been playing catch up ever since.

Plumbing went kaplooey in the kitchen yesterday.  No dishes, no laundry.  Not happy.  

Went to a mini wine tasting last night -- best part of the last couple days.  Bought a few several bottles including a pretty reasonably priced French wine.  More on this later.

My sister's mother-in-law died at the age of 85.  The casket was plastered with stickers.  Oddest thing I've ever seen (thanks to my niece for the Facebook photos.).  Missed the whole thing due to my trip.

Worked 12 hours today, finishing up my annual performance goals.  Next up -- taxes!  You can't buy a good time like this!

Feeling out of sorts -- I just want to go to bed.

Something to look forward to!

If you live in the Detroit area and have an affinity for sheep, as I do, you will want to mark this down on your calendar for 2012.  The traffic issue will be a downer but you will have to walk more (a good idea for most of us!) and the sheep will entertain us!

No Surprise

The leading vote getter in my rug poll is the Lighthouse Rug, so that is the one I will work on tomorrow at the Hook In in Ann Arbor.  Kate is picking me up around 8:30 am and we'll get there in plenty of time to stake out a good spot and save a space for my friend Jackie, too.

I'll be glad to finally finish this rug -- I think I started it around 7 years ago.  I know I struggled for a long time on the sky coloring and the water too.  I will probably sell it when it's done.  Next I'll finish the Ugly Homely Chicken rug.  Can't call her ugly -- that's such a strong word!  Kim is right -- I need to finish that one and put it behind me, too!

Hope you have a great weekend!