would you look at that?

Almost 39 pounds of babies that I grew.

Two with brown eyes, two with blue, all with different hair colors.

How did I get so lucky?

P.S. Lookbook shoot on Saturday was excellent. More on that as soon as I have sufficiently recovered and my computer starts talking to me again. I made it download over 1,000 huge RAW files today.

Crazy and creative

I believe that what we think and say becomes what we do. Sometimes this effect is the result of our conscious, concerted effort to do something. And sometimes the effect is subconscious -- you internalize a set of beliefs, which inform your actions.

The tagline in my blog header says "A crazy and creative life."

I don't even see it anymore, it's been there for years and years. But my brain has certainly absorbed it, and my life continues to be full of beauty, interest, and activity. One might say it's crazy and creative.

Before we wade in any further,

Deep Thought Alert:

Here's a good thing to do if you go to a party and you don't know anybody: First take out the garbage. Then go around and collect any extra garbage that people might have, like a crumpled napkin, and take that out too. Pretty soon people will want to meet the busy garbage guy.

Awww, thanks, Jack Handey.

Dear lord, please tell me you remember who Jack Handey is. I know I'm older than the internet, but if I'm the only one left alive that recalls this...

The difference between a man and a boy is, a boy wants to grow up to be a fireman, but a man wants to grow up to be a giant monster fireman.

...then I might need to find a facility with padded rooms to check into.

Which brings me to my

Real Deep Thought Alert:

What would you write as the tagline for your life?

A peaceful and tidy life?

A life of adventure and wonderment?

A content and sweet life?

Write your tagline on a post-it and stick it where you'll see it each morning and night. Put one next to your computer. Read it every day. Leave your tagline here. Put it on Twitter, or Facebook, or wherever you spend a lot of time. See what happens. Report back.

And remember,

Maybe in order to understand mankind, we have to look at the word itself: "Mankind." Basically, it's made up of two separate words, mank and ind. What do these words mean? It's a mystery, and that's why so is mankind.

 P.S. If you like seeing my pictures, you might like seeing the Facebook page I made just for them. I'd love it if you'd like me!

dipping my toe...

...back in the teaching water. I feel like I'm coming out of baby hibernation, having not run a workshop since March. What will happen?

Will anyone comment on my dizzying height or ask me how the air is up there?

Will anyone tell me that my hair looks matronly or whackadoo?

Will anyone inform me that my lipstick looks dark or my dress wrinkly?

What will happen, internet, WHAT?

I am on the edge of my seat.

Here's what I hope will happen:

You will come see me. Perhaps sign up for one of my classes. You will come see our new collection and trunk show. Maybe you'll bring me a cookie or a piece of fudge. Maybe you'll just bring me a Norwegian royalty wave.

You'll have a fun time looking at yarn, and maybe, if the mood strikes, you'll adopt some of it.

What do you say?

I'm going to be at Amazing Threads in the Maple Grove, MN, on October 13th.

Here are the details of the workshops and trunk show info. Scroll down - it's about 2/3 of the way down on the right.

I'm especially excited to be teaching Yarnography, where I can help you take better pictures of your yarn stash and projects. I can't tell you how many posts I've seen on Ravelry where someone says, "Sorry, the picture sucks, but..." That can change in just two hours, with no fancy equipment or overwhelming technical jargon.

On to my other exciting news... the premiere of our new colorway collection. If you haven't liked us on Facebook yet, you should. There's a special offer there.

So, which colorway is your bestest favorite? I put them on the website and in the poll in the same order. You can take another look here, and then vote below.

Thank you all for your awesomeness. Our retailers were really excited about the response to the new colorways!

It's really, really here!

I am dying -- DYING -- to know what you think of the whole collection. What are you surprised by? What are your favorites? What can you see yourself making?

Don't keep me in suspense!

In each of our new colorway listings is a link to the shops that currently stock it. You can call, email, visit their web stores, or stop by the brick and mortar -- whatever floats your boat. Because everything is instock, you get the instant gratification of knowing your yarn will be on its way shortly -- no waiting for us to make it for you. And you get the warm fuzzies from patronizing a local shop.

I know our premiere is a bit unorthodox, but then I've never been known for following the already-charted path. I know it might take a bit of extra effort to shop in a local yarn shop this weekend, but I know I am speaking for every one of our Awesome Retailers when I say thank you for doing it.

When you buy our yarn in an LYS, you're not just supporting us, you're voting with your dollars. You're saying to the small businesses of the world, the ones who provide you with knitting help, classes, and the ability to see and touch things in person, that you want them here, and that you value their contribution to the knitting community. They appreciate your business, and so do we.

We are proud of what we do, and proud to be part of the most amazing community of people in the world. Thanks for being such amazing fans and friends.

Happy knitting, ogling, and caressing (the yarn! the yarn!) this weekend!

Visit our new colorway babies here.

guess what i made?

Yarn.

A charming baby girl.

A wooden photo backdrop.

Just to give credit where credit is due, lest I hear about it in the morning:

-- I had my husband buy the boards.

-- I had Boy Aaron make them into pallets. (Or as we like to call them, Zombie Apocalypse Emergency Rafts)

-- I painted many layers of Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint and then distressed them to add interesting texture.

Guess what else I made?

A kindergartner.

And yarn.

An eight year old.

Some things in Photoshop having to do with yarn. And yarn, actual yarn.

A giant ten year old, who is almost as tall as his teacher (5'4"), and who eats everything in sight. Apparently it requires a lot of caloric intake to grow a 6'9" skeleton and the muscles to support it.

6'9" is just an estimate. He is in the 140th percentile for height.

The horsedog? That I did not grow. I am only her adoptive mother.

The final boxes for our Fall Premiere Weekend are heading out in the morning! We did it!