Friends, it's been a while

So, many of you all ready know that the Duke and I have recently suffered through a failed adoption. It has been one of the hardest things I have ever experienced. I lost my child. . .

Life goes on even if we don't move with it at first, eventually we are pulled along and reality forces us to keep moving.

Much of my knitting, as of late, had been for the birth parents of our baby. I don't have pictures fo the things I gave them, nor do I really have the desire to blog about those things I still have. They are tangible totems of my pain that I am not ready to share with the world.

I have been doing some other crafting though, and thought it would be a good place for me to start- some of you may remember from my pregnancy that things shaped like mushrooms make me very happy!



Pin cushions. You can either make them into a ring or just have them sit near your sewing and make you smile!

I will send one of these little adorables to the first person who can correctly recall (or look up) what the mushroom shaped object that made me happy during my pregnancy was.

Have Fun!

November is

National Adoption Awareness Month.



In honor of this I (Megan) have committed to blogging every day on my Adoption FYI blog. Please visit me there.

adoptionfyi.blogspot.com

I have kicked off the month by supporting and promoting a wonderful organization, Birth Mother Baskets. Gina Crotts, a birth mother herself, is the heart and drive behind BMB. Her goal is to give birth mothers a basket full of pampering gifts to carry with her as she leaves the hospital. She does not want these HERO birth mothers to leave the hospital empty handed.

She has created sweet little WORD BIRDS to help her organization really "take flight!" Please consider purchasing one of these little cuties or making a contribution to BMB.



Also, be sure to visit Adoption FYI to sign up for the chance to win your very own, personalized, WORD BIRD.

Spinning for Sanity

For those of you who know the torture of the unknown that we are living through right now, you will understand why measures must be taken to maintain sanity. Spinning and other antique past times are fulfilling that need.


In addition to the lovely stuff I all ready showed you I have continued on a spinning frenzy. There is something both calming and satisfying about spinning.


This is some yummy Corriedale from Judy' Novelty Wool. (no website, but she goes to a lot of festivals- or visit her home studio in Centerville, UT.) It was a step outside of my color comfort zone. I really like it. And like all of Judy's fiber, spun like a dream. It's a 2 ply light worsted weight.


This is some BFL. I can't remember who dyed it, but I do remember that my mom bought it for me at Village Yarn and Teas a while back. It was happy to have a turn on the wheel! It is a 2 ply heavy worsted weight.


And THIS!!! This is from a beautiful batt (that I should have photographed before I spun it, but was too excited and didn't think about it.) I was so excited about it that I didn't even remember to get the fiber information on it. It is a wonderful wool and silk noil, but more than that I could not tell you. I will look for the information and get back to you. It is a 2 ply nubby dk weight.


Fall time in Washington of course means apples, and lots of them. I found an excellent price on them, acquired a nifty little apple peeler-corer-slicer, and turned them into. . .


eight quarts of apple sauce and 15 half pints of apple butter so far. (although there are only 14 left, as we have all ready eaten one!) I still have one more batch of apples to cook before I decide if I am done or not.

I suppose that depends on how my sanity is holding up.

How did I not know about this?

If I'm in Seattle, I will be going.



Click on the button to visit their site.

Hey YARN!

I've decided that Yarnnation must be experiencing our own kind of recession. Our economy is based on fiber, yarn, and things that are produced with them. There has been a lack of production as of late, but we aren't in a depression yet.

This year just before I went to OFFF I went through my yarn and fiber collection to see what I had. I still had a lot of fiber from last year's trip to OFFF, which was a very helpful tactic in limiting the amount of fiber I brought home this year.

One of those fibers was some lovely stuff from Sarah Anderson's Great Ball of Fiber. (Also- This year she was there, but might as well not have been, she didn't have ANY dyed fiber. So sad.) My sister picked it out last year and I told her I would spin it for her.

I asked her if she wanted it barber poled or striped, and she said striped. Then I asked her what weight she wanted it - fingering please. ***HEAD BANGING ON WALL*** Yup, I asked her THOSE two questions out of order.

So, I set to work spinning itty bitty singles so I could Navajo ply (that's 3 ply people) a fingering weight yarn. Yes, it too me a year (OK, really it only took me a week, but I put it off for a year.)


400 yards


Navajo Plyed


Proof of Sisterly Love

I must say, though, I did the first 100 yards on my Ashford Traditional (no lace flyer) and the next 300 yards on my Matchless on the smallest ratio. It was WAY faster on the Matchless. (Don't worry Tara, girl, I still love you, though!)

On a related note, my new girl needs a name, any suggestions?

Interview with a Sheep

We had an amazing time at Oregon Flock and Fiber.

I will collect photos from the various cameras and share our wonderful weekend, but until then, enjoy my interview with a sheep, courtesy of Miss Sarah!

Time to get the Quilts out (or finished!)

This is a quilt that my grandmother made for me and gave me 12 years ago when I graduated from high school. I love this quilt. It is soft and comfy, and perfect in every way. The only problem is that the Duke thinks so too. Often when I go looking for it I find it, with him cuddled up beneath it! Sometimes I join him, but the quilt is only a twin size quilt, so then we are pulling and tugging and it just doesn't work. A new solution had to be found.



Last winter I purchased the fabric for a quilt just for the Duke. I let him choose from one of the Turing Twenty quilt patterns (of course he chose the most intricate one!) I got a good start and then, like everything else it got put on the back burner as I struggled to finish school and be a mom.



It has been on my TO-DO list all summer. I even took it to Utah and worked on it, but I forgot some of the pieces, so it didn't get finished. Well, today while Little Sir was happily playing with his friend and their nanny, I got the top done!!! Now of course the quilt isn't done, but I am "outsourcing" the quilting and the binding, cheating? maybe, but the Duke will be happier with a finished quilt and a sane wife.

Knitting? Yarn? What?

Yes, yes, but it's a surprise, so you'll have to wait. Also, knitting with a two year old is actually completely impossible, so it's going kind of slow.



Little Sir was given this vest a few weeks ago by the Queen Mother. Yeah, I love the vest, the colorway made me want to puke.



So in a moment of insanity when I had 8 zillion other things to do, I decided to do this to it. Problem solved. (I don't know if you can see a very big difference, my flash sort of washed out the second photo, but it is a pretty dark gray now instead of white.)



Also, this weekend was the Duke's Birthday. We went camping (I know, what was I thinking?) And since cakes don't travel well, he got cupcakes this year. They were fun to make, I swirled vanilla and chocolate batter together.



Here they are frosted! They were tasty if I do say so myself. Oh, and in case anyone is wondering you CAN make "butter" cream frosting with high quality margarine. You just have to add more frosting than you normally would. Tastes pretty good too! :) Oh, and don't add food coloring to them- it doesn't work well.



And just for the record. . . :)

HUGE YARN SALE

There is still a lot of great yarn left. Still a basket full of Rowan, two of Louisa Harding, one of Jeager, some Kreamer, TONS of sock yarn still left (200 pair of socks anyone?) Lots more- think 30 huge bins still full of yarn.

Come on over!

13716 Midvale Ave. N. Unit B
Seattle

Winners

1. Robyn
2. Leah
3. Marisa

Ladies, check your email. Print the email that I send you and bring it with you!

Congratulations and SEE YOU ALL THERE!

Last Day to Enter the Yarn Sale Contest

My sister and her husband and both her adorable little boys are HERE!!! We are getting ready! My garage is nearly full of yarn, books, needles (we are very excited!)

We will announce the winners of the contest tomorrow night. You can enter until 10 pm tomorrow (Thursday)

Enter up to three times

See the last three posts.

YARN SALE CONTEST

Hey Seattle Knitters- A reminder that you can enter a contest for credit to buy yarn at the BIG SALE next weekend. You can enter up to three times and there are three ways you can enter.

1. You can tweet about the sale (then leave a comment telling me)
2. You can post it to your fb page (then leave a comment telling me)
3. You can post about it on your blog (and you know what to do!)

First Prize: $30 to spend at the sale
Second Prize: $20 to spend at the sale
Third Prize: $10 to spend at the sale

See you NEXT WEEK!!!

Oh, and my sister informed me that she has decided to bring her books LOTS AND LOTS OF KNITTING BOOKS!

Serious Stash Building- Recession Style

A lot of us have been watching our yarn budgets a lot closer lately. I know my stash has had a significant hole made in it over the last year. Let me (and my sister) help get it back up to healthy levels without hurting your wallet!

Announcing:
A Serious Stash Event

Some of you may remember that my sister used to own a gift boutique and yarn store. When she shut down to focus on raising her baby, the yarn just stayed on the shelves. She is bringing all that yarn to Seattle and selling it well below cost- because it is just time for it to go.

Rowan, Jeager, Elsebeth Lavold, Debbie Bliss, Kraemer, Louisa Harding, Plymoth, lots of sock yarn.

There are sweater quantities in most yarns, and project quantities in all yarns. There will also be needles, notions, patterns, bags- pretty much anything (other than books) that you might expect to find in a yarn store.

The Important Info

Where: 13716 Midvale Ave. N. Unit B, Seattle, WA
When: Labor Day weekend Frinday Sept 4th, Sat, Sept 5th and Monday Sept 7th
(NOT SUNDAY)
10:00 am- 5:00pm (or until we run out of yarn ;)

Now help us spread the word and get rewarded!

My sister is offering some great incentives to get the word out.

First Prize: $30 in yarn at the sale
Second Prize: $20 in yarn at the sale
Third Prize $10 in yarn at the sale

How do you enter?

1. Repost this post to your blog
2. Tweet about the sale sometime *during the week before* the sale (link to this post)
3. Share this post on facebook

For each entry leave a separate comment with a link to your blog URL or twitter name, along with your email address. If you win I will email you a certificate to use at the sale. (if you win and you aren't able to attend the sale, I will put you in contact with my sister who will help you choose what you want.)

GOOD LUCK AND SEE YOU LABOR DAY WEEKEND!

Relaxin' in Utah

Have you been wondering what Little Sir and I have been up to during our impromptu trip to Utah (other than making amazing adoption announcements?)

Well, let me share. . .

There has been quite a bit of spinning (and a little bit of knitting)





This beautiful yarn is a testament to the magical nature of spinning. My mom and I died the roving a few months ago. It was ugly, but we decided that one of us should still try spinning it to see what happened. She took it home, but I ended up spinning it in the last few days, we both agree that it is beautiful!

I have been commiserating with my newest little nephew. He and I are both second-borns- I get it ET, I really do, buddy. I've got your back.



We've been loving on the other adorable baby who lives here. Little Sir has taken on the role of baby entertainer, especially with this little girl- and really who can blame him?



The cousins have been spending a good deal of time sans clothing. . . (Hellooooooo summer time.)



And having a lot of fun with clothing too. (SLC has an incredible Children's Museum.)



Last but not least. . . We've been ooohing and aaaahing over fuzzy pictures of an 8 week old peanut called Baby-J. (Squeeeeeee)

The only place yarn and jam go together

Here it is. . . the first yarn to come off of the new spinning wheel (who needs a new name, BTW, any suggestions?)



It's Superwash merino (I think) that I dyed so long ago that I don't remember when it was. 160 yds, double ply, light worsted.

And the wheel spins like a dream.

In other news- it is berry season here in the PNW. I haven't been out picking my own yet, but that will come soon, I think. I was inspired by Beep and Bop and Accident Prone Left Hander to take advantage of our berry berry good summer and make some jam.

However, unlike both of them, I am unwilling to cook anything in my second story, non-air conditioned kitchen, so freezer jam it is. It isn't as pretty to photograph, and I don't give it awesome names (K. I'll leave that up to you if you want) but boy does it taste good!





Oh, and just because I was living in the dark for so long about freezer jam, let me fill any of you who don't know in on a little secret. It is SUPER easy to make. I make it in my blender, as you can see.

1. Blend up fruit.
2. Add sugar and pectin
3. Blend for 1.5 min more
4. Put in freezable containers
5. Let sit for 1/2 hour
6. Throw it in the freezer (or eat it- it's ready to go!)

No cooking involved- which is great for our current uncomfortably hot days. (PS- our next house is going to have AC- I don't care if we only need it for a month out of the year.)

Also, it has a lot less sugar in it that most other jam recipes. You add 1.5 cups to 4 cups of fruit. The Duke and I really like this because we don't like very sweet jam.

There you go, easy as pie (which is a silly saying, because pie can be pretty hard to make.)

Getting Back to Being Me

Have you missed me? I've kind of missed me. I didn't even know that I liked myself that well. Guess I always just took myself for granted. (he he)

OK- here we go with a real live post.

So Little Sir and I have been doing some fun things the last couple of days- and it has been great. On Saturday he and I went garage sale-ing. I haven't done this for such a long time. I really love it because 1. I get to see the strange things that other people have collected over the years and 2. I get to buy things that I otherwise wouldn't because it the cost is so minimal.

So I don't have a little girl (yet) and I'm not the kind to buy cute little girl's clothes and store them away hoping that I will be able to put them on my adorable child one day- but I do have a particular soft spot for vintage baby clothes. (You may have notices that some of Little Sir's baby pics were in cute vintage things. ) Well, when I come across a box of 30ish year old dresses for a quarter a piece, well, I don't feel bad about buying the one bit! And maybe some of them will even fit my new adorable niece (who now has her own blog BTW- you might check it out - The Cabbage Patch Kid.)

I also found a real Sunkahan (Kumusta mga Pinoy na kaibigan!) The family had been using it as a candle holder. (for shame!) At least they hadn't burned the candles on it. For those of you who don't know what a Sunkahan is- it is a Filipino board game somewhat like Mancala, only more complicated.



Later Little Sir and I went to a near by beach and chose enough small smooth stones to play the game. I am looking forward to whipping the Duke on this board. He still hasn't figured out how I always beat him (it's the Filipino heart beating inside of me.)



Today we had to run some errands, but other than that, stayed home and did some crafting. John Henry loves to "enrich" my crafting experience by a fun little game he has concocted of hiding the next tool or supply that I will need. He is very good at it (it's the gremlin heart in him!)



I got my sewing machine out even!

I started with an easy project our church is doing, sewing small pillows for breast cancer patients to put under their seat belt strap where it hits their breast. East and fulfilling- I got several done while Little Sir was napping.

Then onto the beginning of another craft I have had in my mind for a few days now.



It's a little felt book for Little Sir. This is the cover and next I will begin working on the pages and the felt pieces. I am very excited about it. I hope that it will help keep him happy (and quiet) in church. He was an atomic toddler yesterday!

Last by not least, I am simply loving my new spinning wheel and I greatly enjoying the return of mine and the Duke's tradition of me spinning or knitting in the evening while he reads to me. Could there be anything more relaxing?



Yes, I am defiantly feeling more like myself than I have in a long time. It really does feel wonderful.

Oh, and if you want to see some really adorable photos of Little Sir, head over to the adoption blog. There are some really fun new ones.

A real post? Sort of. . .

I'm going to do it. I'm really going to put up a real post tonight, with real pictures and crafts and amazing garage sale finds and even some spinning. . . I'd say it's going to be awesome, but that might be taking it a little too far.

I am starting to feel like myself again.

So, why am I not just posting right now you might ask. . . Well, because right now I have a lot of things I need to do. . . I need to clean my very scary kitchen, I need to make dinner, and I really need to throw Litt'e Sir's bedding in the laundry because after his nap he woke up, took off his diaper, and let loose in his crib. I am viewing this as a Potty Training success, and please, don't correct me if I'm wrong. I'm like my own interpretation of reality just fine.

So, why am I not doing all of those things right now, why am I here posting about a post that I'm going to post later. . . ah, that all goes back to me feeling like myself, my happy procrastinating self.

But as long as I'm here, how about a little "Things I Like"

Have any of you tried Wyller's Italian Ice? They are like Otter Pops for adults. All four flavors are fantastic (my favorite is the orange cream) but the biggest surprise is the texture, really like Italian Ice. I have found them at Rite Aid and most recently at Albertsons. They are only 50 calories, and the perfect way to cool off during the summer.

Recovery is Slow

Well, I am beginning to recover from the massive amounts of stress from finals, graduation, company, brother's custody battle, a wedding, travel, a family reunion, two VERY involved adoption scams. . . let's just say it didn't surprise me much when I saw that I hadn't posted here in a month. Well, let's fix that.

I haven't really had a chance to do much knitting, but there has been a little, and at least I am thinking about it.

See


Knitting


Knitting


Oh- and SPINNING


- on my new (to me) Schacht Matchless spinning wheel (SQUEEEEE!!!) We were up in a little town north or here to have Logan's (dog) teeth cleaned and while we were waiting we went in this little yarn shop and one of their regulars was selling hers, as she had developed arthritis and couldn't use it much anymore.

Well, financially, this wasn't the best time for us to splurge on something like this, but I have NEVER seen a used Matchless for sale before and so we talked it over, figured it out, and the Duke (the amazing husband that he is) decided it could be a (very) early Christmas present. That was Tuesday, and can you believe that today is the first day I've been able to spin on it. I can tell you it instantly increased the Zen in the house. I should remember to spin more, not less when I am tying myself in knots. . . it does wonders to untie them. Oh, and it spins like a dream. . .

Now, off to bed to dream about spinning (or maybe a little more spinning to get me in the right mind set for dreaming ;)

At Long Last!

It took me 3.5 years, but at long last, I have managed to add a few more letters to the end of my name.
On Sunday I graduated with my Masters is Business Administration.


My parents came up to help us celebrate.


John Henry had a hard time sitting through the ceremony, but when I walked across the stage to get my diploma he recognized his mama and called out to me! What a smart little guy!


This day marks the end of our formal education. Either one or both of us has been a student for all 8 years of our marriage. It was a great day for us. We made it!

The Living Cabbage Patch Baby

I know, I know, no knitting, I swear, there will be knitting a plenty after this week!

But my poor little sister, who may actually die of the anticipation of meeting this adorable little Cabbage Patch Baby, needs photos of her and her giddy daddy. (seriously, he hasn't stopped grinning for two days- it is seriously silly.)

So enjoy! (Oh, and that is a hand knit sweater in the first photo, you can't see it very well, but it is there. . . see knitting!)

Daddy's Little Girl

We are so happy to welcome our newest little girl to the family. See how much she loves her Daddy! (My little brother- you're gonna be a great daddy.)