oh, me, oh my!

Here I thought I'd get a ton of stuff done over the long weekend with my mom here. I guess I did get stuff done, but not the stuff I thought I was going to do! We went to see the totally amazing Christmas light display at the zoo, took a walk in Tryon Creek State Park and played with some of the most giant maple leaves I've ever seen, ran in the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning (4 miles - the first two were nice, easy downhill miles and the last two were extremely difficult back-up-the-hill miles), and ate and ate and ate some more. I also managed to get my new shopping cart/web store up and running - check it out!

Since the new cart is up, and there's a little secret hidden away inside, I'm going to make an announcement here. Not only will GYW be your source for amazing knitting patterns (okay, I'm poking fun there - I like my patterns and all, but I do have a little bit of humility, which is constantly at odds with my need to market my wares...), but I'm also going to be selling some exclusive sock kits! I've just placed a couple small wholesale orders with Mama-E's C*eye*ber Fibers and Chewy Spaghetti for some hand-painted sock yarn. Each yarn will come with a sock pattern designed especially for it. If they sell well, I'll be searching for more independent fiber artists to collaborate with on additional kits. If you paint yarn and might be interested in working on something with me, let me know!

I also got quite a bit of knitting done - the sock design I'm creating for Michelle of the Sweet Sheep is almost done after having to be ripped back past the heel flap twice on the first sock (the first time, I had the gusset totally decreased, too, and realized that the stitch pattern just wasn't right on the foot just above the start of the heel flap. Grrrrr!). This week will be all about getting those socks done and starting on the maternity sweater. Can't wait to dive into that box of Bam Boo! I also received a box of five different yarns in the mail that will turn into swatches for the Great Wall of Yarn at TNNA in January. I'm actually going to attend the show this year, and I'm very excited (and a little nervous). I was leaning towards skipping it since Owen is still showing no interest in weaning, but my mom is going to fly down and play nanny for the weekend so I can bring him with me. Yay!

Finally, I got the most awesome box from my Sockret Pal, who has obviously been keeping close tabs on my blog. It was like she's known me for years! I haven't gathered myself together enough to post a pic yet, but it totally rocks. I'll have something up here soon for you all to ogle. But right now, I've got to go deal with a cranky, teething, snotty child. Jealous?