We're all business here...

Nothing to see here, folks. I've had a very exciting time this week getting my SSL set up on the Gardiner Yarn Works shopping cart. This is the first step in preparation for accepting credit cards directly in my shopping cart (rather than making people use PayPal). I also applied for a merchant account, which is what actually processes the credit cards. It's not quite ready yet, but now if you go through the login and checkout process in the Gardiner Yarn Works store, you'll see the little secure padlock in your browser (or at least, that's the hope!). I've also been working on the business plan. And writing patterns. And trying not to kill the kids...

After a relatively slow summer commissions-wise, I've got a bunch of stuff slated for the fall. I'm working on projects for three different books (!) as well as more stuff for Blue Moon, Hip Knits and the Sweet Sheep. I'm also doing a sock club pattern for the Woolgirl sock club - I just got the yarn in the mail, and it is FAB-U-LOUS. I've also got toe-up and top-down sock patterns to write for the classes I'm teaching at Twisted. Whew!

We are heading off on our annual trip to Minnesota next weekend (yikes!) and we're going to be driving again, so I'll have plenty of knitting time in the car. Bill has managed to set up some meetings in Montana, so his company will be covering our travel expenses that far. I can't wait - I just love road trips! I'm going to be sussing out yarn shops to hit while Bill is meeting with bankers... On the way back, we're going to drive through Yellowstone to show the kids Old Faithful. I just love that place.

I'd love to stay and chat some more, but I just wound up a lovely cake of Dream In Color Smooshy for my sock class pattern. It needs to be knit. I'm sure you understand...

yarn, yarn & more yarn...

Okay, I'm going to stop acting so surprised that it has been days since my last post. Apparently I'm in a blogging slump. I think I've been too busy knitting...

Actually, what I have been doing is putting together a business plan. After being in business for a couple of years, I can't really put it off any longer. I got a great book - The Business Plans Kit for Dummies - and set to work. This book comes with a CD-ROM that has a bunch of forms that you fill out to help take you through the process of forming a mission statement, figuring out who your customers (and competition) are, getting a handle on your finances - all that good stuff. It has been a very eye-opening process and makes me realize how much work I have left to do as far as budgeting, marketing, putting together consistent materials, etc. I think I've done a decent job on what I've thrown together so far, but I'm going to need to do some serious thinking and planning ahead if I'm to become the next Fiber Trends (hey, aim high, right?).

On Friday, I took a little time out from business planning (and trying to figure out how to install the SSL on my website - aaargh!) to attend a funeral of sorts. One of our Portland yarn shops, Lint, is going out of business. The owner wanted to get out of the business, tried to sell, but didn't find a buyer. I really liked this shop and am sad to see it go (although I didn't get there often, seeing as it was across the river and therefore like it was on a different planet), but that didn't stop me from taking full advantage of the storewide 30% off sale. I spent a bundle...



I got a couple things I'd been looking for, like the Helen's Lace and the Blue Sky Alpaca Sport, but I didn't find any of the size 1 Addis I was hoping to score (silly me - when I came home and looked through my circular needle case, I discovered I do have a 2nd pair, I'd just stashed them in the wrong pocket). The sock knitters must've gotten up early. I also picked up two mannequin torsos which will be great for photography and also if I ever get to the point where I'm doing TNNA. They were only $25, so I decided to snap them up. Now I need to figure out what to do with all this yarn (along with the gigantic bags of yarn already stuffed in my office closet, and the huge plastic bin full of yarn in the basement...)!

I also tried out my new blocking wires on Friday. Actually, they aren't that new (I bought them at Black Sheep last summer but hadn't had any use for them until now), but they are fantastic. They were created by lace expert Myrna Stahman and worked beautifully on the silk shawl I blocked. It's a design for Hip Knits, so I can't show you the whole thing but here's a little sneak peek:



This is their lace silk and boy is it yummy! I have to admit, though, that it was a real bugger to wind - it is so slippery. My first attempt was a huge disaster and I ended up spending about three days working knots out of silk yarn barf. I got smarter the 2nd time around and wound it into small round balls by hand, then kept it in a Ziploc bag while I was working with it. That seemed to keep it under control.

It is always so fun to witness the magic of blocking lace. This shawl really looked horrible when I got done knitting it. The yarn was gorgeous, but the knitting was all curled up and skinny. I spray-blocked it, which is what Amy Singer recommends in No Sheep For You for raw silk - I threaded the blocking wires through the edges, pinned it out (while still dry - I ended up spraying it just a little bit so that it would stretch in a couple spots, but it was mostly dry) and then doused it with a good spray from a misting spray bottle. Voila - magic! I unpinned it the next morning, and it was gorgeous. Love it!

Sydney just woke up, so my computer time is about to end...but first a few announcements. The Fall Interweave Knits preview is up - and my socks made the cut this time! I was half expecting not to see them, but they're there. Yay! Now I can finally say I've been published in Interweave Knits, not just on the Interweave Knits website...

Next, sign-ups for Sock-A-Month 4 are starting out, hot and heavy. I've turned the reins over to Karen and her team of hostesses for this round. After a year and a half, it was time to let someone else deal with the craziness! I will be participating, though, although we'll see how many non-secret socks I manage to knit through the end of the year...

Finally, for anyone in the Portland area who wants to learn to knit socks on two circulars (toe-up or top-down), I'm going to be teaching three-session classes on each as well as some advanced sock workshops at Twisted, our great new local shop. The classes are limited to six people, so if you're interested, sign up soon! Shannon and Emily are the best, and I can't wait to teach in their great space.

Uh, oh - Owen's up now, too - time to dash! See you in a few!

Where does the time go?

How the heck has it been four days since my last blog post already? Does it seem like time just keeps moving faster, and faster, and faster? Or is it just me?

I did manage to get some knitting done in all that time, and now I find myself in the slightly uncomfortable position of not having a gazillion WIPs going at once. I have a bit more edging to do on a shawl I'm designing for Hip Knits, and then I've got to start something new. I have about twelve projects I want to do for the Gardiner Yarn Works pattern line, but I can't seem to decide which one to do first. I'm about to branch out beyond socks to help fill out my pathetically small sweater and accessories offerings, but for some reason it's hard to take the leap. Socks are small and fast, and for some reason it's hard for me to buy all the yarn and do all the knitting for a sweater myself. It's easier to have someone else (Interweave, for example) buy the yarn, do the photography and editing, and pay me my little design fee, even if it's a one-shot deal as opposed to the recurring revenue of a self-published pattern. But now I am just prattling on...let's get on with the knitting pictures (since I know you're much more interested in that than in my blather)!

This little project has been my obsession for the past week:



A lump of lace. How exciting for you all. This is a little "shawlette" made from a single skein of Handmaiden Sea Silk. It needs some blocking love, and then I'm going to get the pattern written up. The Sea Silk is a dream to work with, especially in the hot weather we've been having lately. It's nice and cool (and unsticky) going through sweaty fingers. Stay tuned for the finished product...

I also finished my Sockapalooza 4 socks, and here is one modeled by my new plastic foot:



I need to figure out how to counterweight it so I can have it balancing on its toe instead of sticking up in the air like a corpse foot, but regardless, it's pretty darn cool (and boy do the kids love it). My sister-in-law will be quite delighted to no longer be pressed into service as my foot model...

The sock pattern is currently in testing phase and should be ready for public release sometime in late August/early September. The yarn is Zen Garden tencel/merino and is available anytime over in the shop. I'll also be knitting up a solid-colored sample of the sock so that the stitch pattern photographs more clearly.

Finally, here's a quick shot of our backyard ladies, since you haven't seen them in ages:



They are so big now! They've been clucking instead of peeping for awhile now, and should be ready to start squeezing out those first eggs in the next couple of months. Looks like I'm going to need to put down the needles and pick up the rake this afternoon...that coop is getting just a wee bit messy, wouldn't you say? I knew chickens pooped a lot but, just like before my first kid was born, I didn't really understand the ability of a small creature to poop what seems like their own body weight in a single day. I just keep telling myself "it's great for the compost pile, it's great for the compost pile..."

So much to blog, so little time...

Wow, I'm desperately behind on my blogging, aren't I? My mom was just here over the holiday and we were so busy touristing, I didn't have time for much of anything, and sadly I seem to have gotten out of the blogging habit. So, now I've got to make up for lost time. Prepare yourselves...(speaking of which, I'm going to go get a glass of Mt. Dew - I'll need a little hit of caffeine and sugar to get me through this post!)

First, let me show you the shearing of my little sheep. We decided that Owen needed a haircut - a big one! We went from this:



To this:



Quite the difference, eh? It took me so long to get used to the change. He looks so much older and more boyish now. We clipped him just in time for our July heatwave, lucky guy!

When Mom was here, we took a couple day trips, one up to Mt. Saint Helens park and the other to the beach. I opted not to lug my $700 camera to the beach where it would undoubtedly get covered in sand, so here's our one family portrait, up at the volcano:



The kids had a fabulous time with their grandma, and we were all very sad to see her go. Fortunately we're going to be heading off to Minnesota to visit her again next month.

While I was enjoying my somewhat relaxing week (it was great to have Mom here to take some of the kid entertainment pressures off of me), I got two great packages in the mail from my two secret pals.

First, my No Sheep Secret Pal Betty sent me these two lovelies from Habu along with the cutest little card:



The yarn is made of "fique" which it says is "family of pineapple plant". It's very stiff and kind of feels like twine - definitely not anything you'd make a sweater out of, but it will make a killer basket or bag. I can't wait to swatch it up and see what the heck I can do with it - I'm not sure, but I've got some ideas!

Then, I got this great package from my totally amazing SP10 Cheryl. Again, she got everything just right...



A Pampered Chef ice cream sandwich maker, two more balls of Royal Bamboo (to match the two she sent me last time), jelly beans and a pair of modified Monkey socks! The socks look all stretched out in the picture because I have been wearing them. I put them on when I opened the box and haven't taken them off since (well, except to sleep and take that picture). Check out those heel flaps!



So nice. I also got my latest publications in the mail (I actually got impatient and picked up copies at the bookstore before I got my designer copy) - Just Socks and Just Gifts from Potter Craft are now out! I have one pair of socks in Just Socks and three dishcloths and a gift bag pattern in Just Gifts. Yes, the books are from Lion Brand, but they were edited by Shannon Okey (of Knitgrrl) and she managed to dig up a great bunch of patterns. I was pretty impressed with both books, but the sock book really has some cool stuff in it.

I also have an actual FO to show you. I managed, at long last, to finish up my 2nd Dublin Bay sock:



This was from my summer sock swap last summer. Yes, it took me an entire year to knit that one sock. But it is finally done, and I love them! Here's a close-up of the side lace pattern:



And last but not least, I visited Portland's newest yarn shop yesterday - Twisted. They needed some sock patterns for all of their awesome sock yarn, and I was more than happy to oblige (they now carry the full line of Gardiner Yarn Works sock patterns). They've got a nice selection of sock yarn from indie dyers as well as Cherry Tree Hill, Louet, Trekking, Austermann, and other regulars that I can't think of off the top of my head. They also have a giant wall of Noro and a huge selection of Debbie Bliss. It's a lovely little shop with plenty of space to sit and knit (they also serve a huge variety of tea - hot and iced), and the owners, Shannon and Emily, are fantastic. I will be teaching a toe-up sock class there in August sometime. If you're in the area, get over there and get yourself some yarn! This is what I picked up for myself:



It was hard not to buy more, but between the 100-degree heat and the millions of projects-worth of yarn that I have sitting at home waiting to be knitted, I resisted. And that, I believe, is all I have to say today! We are off to the beach to try and beat the heat. I'll try not to stay away quite so long next time!