Dyeing to Knit

...sit and knit is all I've wanted to do all week. I got alot of dyeing done this past week and low and behold what arrives Friday but more yarn, cones upon cones of beautiful yarn wanting color. I also received a bunch more dyes now all I am waiting for is my new skein winder to get here.

Besides dyeing I've been taking care of 2 sick kids(colds), never fails when you have something to do, hehe. Little guys are much better now that they have passed their germs onto myself and I am doing my best to get over this as quick as possible. Crap I'm grateful the runny nose only lasted one day.

I received my Harvest Sock Swap partner and she has such a great taste in yarns and is turning out to be a very bad influence on me ;). She got to chatting about Woolmeise, it just so happened their website is down till tomorrow and there was none to be had at the Loopy Ewe. She did have other favs, Smooshy, Shi Bui and Yarntini so what do I do, buy a bunch of stuff from both the Loopy Ewe and The Sweet Sheep. I can't recall if I ordered some Yarntini but I do have Smooshy and Shi Bui coming my way, hehe. I will be sure to keep my eye out for some Woolmeise.

I also just sent an email off to sign up for the Knitters' Coffee Swap Three, sign ups just opened and there are only 150 spots so act fast. I volunteered to be an Angel for Sockapalooza 3 as well. The gal I'm knitting for enjoys the same colors of yarns I do, now for the tough stuff, choosing something from the stash or maybe what I've got coming. You know I can almost open a sock yarn only store with what I've got and I'm kinda thinking it is getting out of hand. Enough of the silly talk, anyone know of any sock yarn sales on right now :)

I've got a ton of pics to post and really need to get a decent camera again instead of trying to get Jordan's all the time. Maybe if hubby is reading this post, please dear, can I get a camera for Christmas?

Time for bed, happy knitting!

Another long week and we had snow

We actually had snow on Tuesday, crap I thought the weather guy was joking the evening before when he said we'd be getting it but sure enough Tuesday morning before the kids went to school it started. Lucky I dug out the coats and stuff so I wasn't running around like a chicken with its head cut off.

Good news, hubby got the job he wanted and officially started training yesterday and he works today and off the weekend and will be in full rotation come Monday. I am so happy and he's loving the 8 hour shifts after spending the last 4 years working 12 hour shifts. His new place of employment is awesome and I'm looking forward to the new happy vibes he'll have working there.

My new routine is starting to come together, I'm up at 6am and now drinking a pot of coffee in the morning just to keep me going, lol. It really has me reconsidering homeschooling especially after what happened yesterday at school. Long story short, Justice came home with yet another shirt cut on the sleeve, this time I asked him about it instead of thinking it was a rip from the park. He tells me another kid, who was supposed to be his best friend from kindergarten, cut it and a few other shirts too and was teasing him about his new clothes(well excuse me for wanting him to dress decently for school). This all happening in school with the teacher there, crap was I pissed and still am. So for me who has trust issues is wondering if I should continue on this school year, this morning I was ready to keep him home and had no desire to set foot in that school. I also talked with Collin and he's having fun and as he put it "He's friends with everyone and they think he's the King of Kindergarten", ROFL, that helped lighten the mood. This school has a zero tolerance for bullying, supposedly and was having their presentation on bullying when it happened. Hubby thinks that the teachers are handling it well and we should wait and see but me I want to go punch the mom in the nose for raising such a friggin brat.

I also received my Harvest Sock Swap Partner, woot. I finished perusing my stash and found 2 perfect yarns and hopefully make a decision this weekend as to wish one I'll be using. I finished the knitted bag I was working on for my HSKS 3 pal, sorry no pics "the boy"(Jordan) has the camera so hopefully I can get them up tomorrow. I finished one Monkey sock after having to frog the first half of it because it was huge, that's what happens when I check my gauge and do a test swatch.

I still have 2 spots left for the Pay it Forward Swap, if your interested and want the details it is a few posts down.

HSKS Trivia

1. Who is the Hogwarts teacher that Voldermort performed the Avada Kedavra curse on in Deathly Hallows? b. Charity Burbagec

2. Who replaces the Muggles studies teacher in Deathly Hallows? c. Alecto Carrow

3. When Harry meets Mr. Olivander for the first time, which wand law is introduced? c. The wand chooses the wizard

4. According to Mr. Ollivander, what is not necessary to take true possession of another wizard's wand? a. to kill the owner

5. If you know anything about Harry Potter, you will know that Harry's Patronus is a stag. But what is his best friend Ron Weasley's Patronus? d. Jack Russell Terrier

6. Now for the third member of the trio. What form does Hermione Granger's Patronus take?

a. Otter

7. What did Mrs. Wealey make to eat the first night that Harry arrived at Grimmauld Place?

a. Stew

8. In book 5, at the start of term feast, what is Ron eating when trying to talk to Nearly Headless Nick? c. Roast potato

9. A half-giant called Rubeus Hagrid takes you to Diagon Alley for the first time. To get there, you go into the courtyard of a pub called the Leaky Cauldron. There, Hagrid taps a certain brick on the courtyard wall three times with his pink umbrella, revealing the entrance to Diagon Alley. As he decides which brick to tap, he mutters instructions to himself. What instructions does he mutter? B three up…2 acoss.

10. The first place you go in Diagon Alley is Gringotts bank, where you can withdraw money from your vault and Hagrid can withdraw a top-secret package from Vault No. 713 on Dumbledore’s orders. On the second set of doors leading into the bank you notice a poem written. These are the first two lines:Enter, stranger, but take heedOf what awaits the sin of greed,What is the next line? d. ‘For those who take, but do not earn'

Picture Scavenger Hunt

You may either post these pictures on your blog OR simply link to them.

Don't forget to check out the previous post about the Pay It Forward Swap, still a couple spots left. Who wouldn't want a handmade gift arriving on their doorstep in the future :)

Routines and Pay it Forward Swap

This is the 2nd week of school and I'm still working on establishing a routine. I now have from 8:30 am to 11:15 am to myself from Mondays-Thursdays and so far not much accomplished. I can't believe this is the first time in 6 years that I've had that much alone time in one week unless hubby is off. Justice is in school full days now with 1.5 hour lunch break and he comes home for lunch. My days so far have consisted of running back and forth to the school, grocery shopping (alone) and dropping/picking up hubby from work so I can have the van and get all the other crap done. I have even been in bed by 9pm most evenings and I'm not sure if it is from the new school year starting or the anemia kicking my butt.

So, Collin had is first official day at kindergarten on Thursday and we made a deal, if he didn't cry he would get his Star Wars movies and he did great. The only tears that were shed were by me, I balled like a baby for an hour on Thursday after dropping him off. Poor hubby, he didn't think I'd take it that bad since I just had Justice in K the year before. It was funny yesterday when we dropped Collin off, it was the first day the whole class was together, 21 students and half of them were crying. Collin looked around and said "Mom I'm not going to cry and I'll see you at lunch" what a sweetie. I'll post pics later of the boys.

I have been getting some stuff done when it comes to my little business I'm working on. I've been trying out different dyeing techniques for some time now and have been working on different colorways and should have a bunch of listings on etsy before the end of the month. I didn't think I'd attach myself to any of my yarns but I've fell in love with many and have decided I should probably keep one of each for myself, hehe. Yarn HO!! I placed another big order today for more yarn and will be picking up more dye on the weekend when we go to Calgary and fingers crossed I just may be able to make my way to Make One Yarns, still haven't been there yet and I'm dyeing to get my hands on some Cascade and to bask in the glory of being in a real yarn store. Real yarn store, yes we have a yarn store here but they are still unwilling to get anything great in. It took them a year before stocking Malabrigo and I did inquire as to when they will be stocking the laceweight and their response "It is just to expensive and won't sell here in Lethbridge". Ugghh, that's what they said about Lorna's Laces, Cherry Tree Hill or just anything nice. Crap they haven't even brought anymore Trekking in since the first time they had it last year. ASSHATS! Sorry I'm just tired of seeing all that ribbon yarn/fun fur/and the wide variety of acrylics they choose to stock.

I did join the Harvest Sock Swap and sign ups close September 18 so pop on over and grab a spot. The best thing about this swap is no second sock syndrome, hehe. Since I was in a joining mood, I signed up for Secret of the Stole and those sign ups end October 7 so if you've missed MS3 like I did hurry, sign up.

Now I came across the Pay it Forward Swap on Kris' blog, the great gal I spoiled for the Knitter's Virtual Vacation Swap and I signed up.

Here's the details as explained from blog to blog:

"Here is how it works! I'll send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange! I don't know what that gift will be yet, and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week...LOL... but you will receive it within 365 days, that's a promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog..."

If you're interested, let me know by posting to this blog, and I'll start planning your project! This is just the best and I'm looking forward making some cool gifties.

Hogwart Sock Swap 2 Q&A Contest
To earn Slytherin points I am answering a few questions to let my partner know a bit more about me.Hogwart Sock Swap 2 Q&A Contest


What type of pet do you choose as your companion at Hogwarts? I would like an owl, you never know when you need to send a message to someone.

While shopping in Hogsmeade you stop by Honeydukes for some sweets. What treats do you purchase for yourself? Chocolate Frogs, I love chocolate!

A potion you are preparing needs an ingredient available only at muggle shops. You don't want to stand out in your wizards robes, so you resort to traditional muggle clothing. Describe your outfit in detail. A black t-shirt, jean capris a pair of brightly colored handknit socks and sneakers.

What is your favorite subject to study at Hogwarts and why? Defense against the Dark Arts! I like being in the thick of things, being an Auror would be up my alley. Likewise, what subject is your least favorite and why? Divination - not really interested in reading tea leaves.

Back to the potion you were shopping for ingredients for, what type of potion are you making, what color is it, what are the ingredients, and precisely what does the potion do? A Relaxation potion. I would need one vanilla bean, lavender, a half cup of fire whisky and mix with the feather of a dove. The potion is turns purple once mixed.