The Girl Cave!

We've been pretty busy for the last month getting Ng's room renovated. I'm pleased to say we are FINISHED! Well, like 99% finished. There is still a small bit of molding to go behind her door- but you can't really see unless you really look... so SHHHH....

Here is a tour... I hope you like it! Our little monster does- and we kinda wish we could have a room like this ourselves!

So here is what you walk into. The bookcase will get repainted- later. Like, I don't even want to think about it and maybe next summer I will do it. No hurry!

We painted the inside of her closet blue and used scrapbooking paper in the flooring, so it's pretty colorful! Ng picks our her clothes for the week and puts them in the hanging sweater cubbies. This has made getting ready in the morning SO much easier!
Ng decided to use the smaller, more vividly painted dresser in her room (STOLEN from ME!) so her sheets are on her closet shelf. Kinda annoying, but we will deal with it!

Speaking of the dresser, here is a closer look. I repainted it a few years ago (dumpster dive score!) and originally planned it's use for my yarn stash. That didn't last long and it's been used for many other purposes since. Plus, my yarn won't fit in there!

As you can kind of see, her window casings were painted hot pink! And there is a Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy sticker on her window. We're into squished things...

And now, the BED!

Mark built this whole thingy by himself using mostly free materials! It is so sturdy (it doesn't squeak or move even when the adults are tucking in the princess!) and it's pretty comfy up there. The banisters keep her from jumping off on purpose or rolling off while sleeping. My brother really needed that feature as a child.

Underneath is a desk with art supplies (the desk and chair are from thrift stores!) an ikea table with her dollhouse, and then...

The other side is her dumpster find chair. That's where I sit when I read to her at night. And snuggle in the morning. The wall behind is lined with painted boards to add a bit of color. We keep a few books in a mini shopping cart behind the ladder and a little basket- books everywhere! And there are paper heart lights hung behind for a little mood lighting. The mood being "Go to sleep so we can go watch Netflix!"

Her other wall is just white at the moment with her easel to break it up a bit. I will add a clothesline type contraption to hang her artwork so it will be easy to change out and keep fresh and updated without putting holes in the walls.

Oh yeah! On the upper level is room for her doll beds. It's all very snuggly and sleepy up there...

*complete with a sleep mask... Skippyjon Jones came with his own mask, as you can see. And yes, all the dolls are nekkid. I don't know what's up with that kid and the nekkid dolls. The black, white and teal thing on the wall is a clothesline for her doll clothes. Not that the dolls wear any... but should the need arise... They also have a trunk full of clothes. Once again, just sitting there. Mark also built the doll bunkbeds- it was his trial run. Or something like that. Ng decorated them with a Sharpie. I've made sure there are no more hidden Sharpies in this room. But we did find some hidden candy as we were moving stuff over. I love the look on Ng's face when we uncover that kind of thing...


So that's it! Pretty awesome- if I say so myself!

Much Ado About Something...

So a certain little girl had her birthday party this weekend. Yay, 6!!

Happy Birthday, my sweet!

My friend Kimberly took the most amazing photos of our little gathering at the park. I think everybody had a good time.

We've been working on Ng's room for a few weeks now and it finally looks like a bedroom. Just a few more boards to screw into place and we can start moving stuff in.

We ripped all the paper off the walls, taped and textured, sanded and painted the window sill (hot pink!), pulled up the carpet, added kraft paper flooring (AWESOME!) and now Mark is finishing up the built in bunk bed. Or loft. Or hellacool hangout area with a bunk on top... whatever you want to call it!

So trim is next... I think. And hot pink railings. Of course...

We found the chair by a dumpster and let it air out for about a week. It fits under there perfectly and is so comfy. Everybody needs a reading chair, right? Don't worry, it will be placed better once we get things all sorted. And don't worry- there were no rusty needles in the cushions or gross mystery stains. The chair is in remarkable shape. No pet hair or cigarette smoke. It was destiny! I'll just throw something hot pink on it and all will be well.

Mark also found a fully functioning Dyson by a dumpster a few days later. It works perfectly- but I can't say it smells great. Lots of dog hair. But a DYSON! For free! And it works? I don't think anything hot pink will fix the odor, unless baking soda comes in cool colors now.

Ah, fiber... I've been getting into colorwork kits (notice how I don't say I'm actually knitting colorwork yet...) so I made a few for the shop. I have some new colorways coming out soon and some preordered kits drying right now. Anywho, this is the first grouping. I got all crazy and spun them up in like 2 days.

The yellow ended up being a little thinner, so it might not make the cut. It's a floofy Finn sport weight even though the WPI (14) is on the fingering side of things. This combo is called PS... A Walk in the Woods and was a colorway created with my friend Shayla of Alina Shea Creations. She has a few skeins left of the matching yarn so go pick some up! I've been going back and forth with the pattern I want to use. Maybe Chevron Love Mittens?

I've also washed and whacked these two skeins. I spun them first, of course, but I only just washed them yesterday...

They are both mixed Corriedale from Southern Cross Fibre. Nply, to keep the colors from getting muddy. I think socks?? I always think socks though!

Remember that handspun I was talking about last time? Well, I'm actually knitting it up into a baby sweater/top/weird-Scandinavian-thing. It is adorbs. Yep, I just said that. And yep, I'm really knitting it. In fact, I'm almost finished with it. I just keep leaving it in the car so I haven't been able to sit with it longer than 10 minutes or so. My evening Supernatural-watching is with the wheel lately but that will change after tonight... it is the last episode available on Netflix and I don't want to start a new braid until- oh crap. I have another 2 oz of BFL- ok. Scratch all of that.

To sum up- I'll finish some stuff sometime.

Until next time, my friends!
Sparkles and rainbows and hugs!!! xoxoxo

Ah, autumn...

It's all kinds of pumpkin-y around here. My favorite time of year.

The latte is pumpkin something-or-other. The muffin is cinnamon. The socks are Retro Rib using Knit Picks Stroll in Hearth Multi (discontinued, but lovely still!)

I'm planning on some ambitious spinning and knitting for the next few months. I'm glad the weather is starting to cooperate. I LOVE being cold. I love layers. I love flannel (which I have very little of right now. I need to fix that.) I love jeans and wooly socks. I love mitts and scarves and brisk breezes. 

This time of year we take a little trip up the mountain and check out the aspen trees. This year, the fire got most of our favorite groves- and I'm avoiding the effects of the fire so I can't even bear to go see what is left. Mark shows me photos, thinking he is reassuring me- but my heart just drops. It hurts to think about it even. 

So... I'll leave you with a pretty pic, taken 2 years ago. 

And some yarn I made then too. I pulled it out last night and it is next in line to become something awesome. 

It is Spunky Eclectic BFL- an old club colorway called Rolling Hills. I managed 310 yards of 2 ply. It was spindle spun and one of the first yarns I ever made. There is something so comforting in that- and it will help, I think.

Thank you, Shayla for destashing it all those years ago!

Any thoughts on what it should be?

catching up

I love this time of year.
Minus the pollen.

But the weather? The leaves? The HOURS each day I have to myself? The productiveness? Yeah, it's all pretty great.

I've been working on a few little things before attacking the larger stuff (more on that later...) and here is a little peek.

We have this old screen door with a rip in it. It was a dumpster score (a recurring theme here!) and perfectly ok. But this tiny little rip drove me crazy and I didn't really want to re-screen the whole thing, so I pulled out some embroidery thread and did a little patch up. And then I got a little crazy...

I think it is pretty cute!

It was canning central here last week. We did tomatoes, pear butter, plain ol' pears, plum and elderberry jelly (MORE elderberries!) and probably more, but I can't remember. Preserving this food has given me peace of mind- more so than just freezing it. I think it is another zombie apocalypse fear surfacing. Freezing is fine and dandy, but what happens when the power is gone, people? Well, now we can all sit and eat some jelly. Take that, Mayans!

Spinning and knitting? Yeah. I did some of that too. I'll just throw in a couple pics- because there is too much to show and most of you guys see it all on Ravelry anyway, right?

These mitts are made from n-plyed BFL from Southern Cross Fibre. I heart them very much!

And for when it is colder I have some mittens! Once again, handspun but the fiber is from Pigeonroof Studios and is SW merino. I had to rip out the tops twice to get the shape I wanted. How very uncharacteristic of me. Usually I just throw a fit and frog them.

I'm so glad I didn't! Bring on the snow!

 This is a two ply I made from LongdrawJames' luxury fibers. It is Royal Alpaca and Polwarth. It's very cheery and I think it will make a good scarf or something for a certain little girl who is friends with another little girl who has too many scarves... and never wears them. Her dad might read this, so I'll leave it all cryptic. Plus, I'm all flighty and I'll probably forget to knit it anyway.

This, my friends, is my first try at Cheviot. It is the colorway Moonstone from Northbound Knitting. Not my favorite fiber to spin, but the yarn is a nice neutral that I can mix with something crazy in a colorwork project.

I haven't been dyeing much. I got all jazzed and then all blah. I'm still a little blah. And we've started fixing the bedroom walls and floors (ALL of them!) so that is the priority now.

Yeah... so that's all I'm reporting at this time. Have a great weekend!

today...

It was a big day today!

We talked about homeschooling for so long but decided to give kindergarten a try this year. She was totally and completely excited- but Mark and I stuck around the playground about 2 minutes too long and she came running back with tears. I'm hoping tomorrow will go smoother!

See the shiner? Yeah- Ng ran into her doorknob last night. Poor girl inherited my grace...

This house has been awesome lately. Our lives have been shaping into the form I've always wanted. A couple of weekends ago we stopped on the side of the road and picked some elderberries which became the tastiest and most fragrant jelly of all time! Ng is an expert elderberry 'stripper'- she de-stemmed like a dervish, if dervishes do that sort of thing.

We got to try a few eggs from our much loved community chickens. I love those little beasts. I feel at peace when we go peek at them. I can't wait to have our own flock, however tiny it may be. The eggs were so rich and almost buttery or creamy or just damn good. I can't describe it, but if you have tried free range eggs you know what I mean.

The flowers totally photobombed the eggs. I've been covering my house with cut blooms this week. I've never been one to want flowers (to Mark's relief!) but a few splashes of color have really been inspiring and welcome lately! I can't get enough neon orange. Unless it is traffic cones. That's a different story!

Anyway- the days are more free and the dyeing will start up tomorrow! I've got lots of colorways and themes dreamed up (NEON ORANGE?) so I have a ton of work to do. And I will whistle whilst doing it!

or just listen to Pandora.

cause you know I can't whistle.

or maybe you don't know.

but now you do!

it's getting there...

A bunch of stuff has happened since last time.

Our area suffered a HUGE fire. Almost 45,000 acres. It was pretty scary. Lots of homes lost- lots of perspective gained though. More on that later.

Health issues- but surgery this week should leave Mark right as rain. Some perspective was gained there as well...

On a more topical note I've been cleaning and decluttering a lot. A LOT. Which started before all the fire stuff and the health stuff. I'm so inspired by simple living and minimalism. Since I've started getting rid of stuff and letting go my stress and anxiety has been greatly improved. Evacuation due to fire- I'm cool with that. House burnt down? (it didn't...) I'm cool with that too. Because I have everything I need. My family is so much stronger now that June has happened. "June" was just one major event. But a cleansing one. And I'm grateful for the lessons learned and that we are all safe and sound.

This simplicity started several years ago. Slowly weeding out the unnecessary... but still bringing in tons more than we needed. I replaced several toxic cleaning products. I got rid of as much plastic and synthetic stuff as I could. Learning about gardening and sustainability...  It will continue to be a process. I'm ok with that. I know firsthand that cold turkey doesn't work well for me in most cases. Lately I've been upping the game though. I have a great urge to finally get where I want to go. It is not so easy with Ng and Mark in the same house. We don't have identical philosophies. Mark seems more sentimental than me. One weekend with my parents RUINS Ng. Well, maybe not ruins, but her wardrobe and toy stash increases. So frustrating.

I think my lesson in this is to focus on myself though. I've started a cleaning schedule based on the FlyLady system and it is really working for me. I've noticed that Ng doesn't have to be asked to clean- or at least not begged to pick up her stuff! Mark has always chipped in a bit- so that wasn't much of an issue. My issues with him have quieted down- like the bathroom mirror, counter and the pee that guys get everywhere even when they say they don't... well, not so much of an issue since I'm cleaning it off everyday and it doesn't build up. So I'm finding a peace inside of me. I'm making peace inside of me! A lot less martyrdom- which runs in my family, I think... heh.

Honestly, I would just get rid of it all and wash my hands of this stuff, but that's not an option. So I'll keep moving along and maybe someday Mark will throw out more crap that doesn't matter and Ng will only keep what she really plays with and maybe my parents will stop trying to buy her love... maybe. Maybe we will all agree on a 'no-spend' month (or 12!) and cut out all the sugar... even ice cream, MARK.

Until then, it's been a great ride. Even if I'm the only one who knows we are on it.

moving on...

Tour de Fleece started yesterday! For those who don't know, basically you just spin fiber everyday during the Tour de France. I could honestly care less about the actual race. And the challenge of spinning everyday doesn't really matter either because I do it everyday anyway (therapy!!)

This is what I'm working on now... it is Polwarth/silk from Two if by Hand. drool...

Resting on the bobbins are two plies of Spunky Eclectic Romney (Beans) and Gotland (Robin Red Breast) to make a three ply sock yarn for Mark.

This whole yarn thing is ruining my minimalism. I can deal with the fiber and the handspun. I think it stays true to my goals, but the commercial yarn I own is out of control. Hmmm.... maybe Mark will clean out under the bed if I get rid of my yarn... one can dream. It would be a small price to pay. Lol. Maybe not.

I have some thinking to do.

Love to you all!

I finished the socks!! Hooray!

It was a pretty fun construction. I will be doing it again- totally. Except backwards- like cuffs at both ends.

So I made this long tube with the toe decreases along both ends (used magic cast on and then kitchener stitch at the other end.)

Then I blocked the heck out of the tube. I used my lace wires along the edges to get them nice and straight. Or mean and straight. But not crooked. (Ok, maybe a little. It's handspun. There is always crookedness!)

Then I marked the middle and where the heels go (two inches short of total foot length from cast on/bind off)

and I CUT.

I didn't cry. I thought I would freak out, but it was pretty easy. I took a lot of care to thread the waste yarn in correctly, so the stitches didn't come undone.

Then I used some leftover Trekking XXL for the cuffs and heels. Piece o' cake. I used a length of the handspun in the cast off to make it a little bigger so it wouldn't be so tight. It didn't really live up to expectations, but it is still a nice cuff.

And he likes them. And totally deserves them after the week he had. He's getting some bright green, blue and purple ones next. They will be my summer 'knitting-at-the-movies-in-the-dark' project. And yes, cuff to cuff...

The yarn? Well, I'm glad you asked. It was from FiberFancy on Etsy. The colorway was Garlic and Herbs. She has a similar braid called Mustard and Herbs on BFL right now. I'm sitting on my hands, but I will totally enable you to go buy it. It was really nice to work with.

Before:

After: supa thin single, n-plied for awesomeness.

Up next? I don't know. Ngaio and Mark have taken over my wheel. I haven't gone this long without spinning since I got the wheel. Maybe I will just rest up for Tour de Fleece? Hah. I don't think I can last much longer. $50 says I start something tonight.

Knitting- yeah. I have a lot going on there. We will leave it at that.