Look Knitting!

The little round thing is another Pi blanket. Mom is going to knit this one I just started it for her. That is BunkyBoBos hand dyed superwash merino. The hat is perfection. Fits great and the color is wonderful. I overdyed a ball of tan yarn to get this deep rust color. One of the kids has swiped it already

In other news I ordered more yarn to dye today. I should have it by Monday. I can't wait. Look for updates late next week.

The Power of the Cuteness

Toph is just so sweet. She is a snuggler, and so far she like to snuggle everyone. Winston included. She follows him around the house at times playing with his tail. He lets her until he has had enough. Then he knocks her down and goes off in search of a quite place to nap.

Toph has also had an effect on MG. She cleans up after the pup without being asked and has started putting things away so Toph won't chew them. There has been less pouting and sass too.

MB is in charge of supper time and makes sure Toph gets "just the right scoop" They are very good to Winston too. Telling him they love him and giving extra hugs. Hubby and I call it The Power of the Cuteness. Babies have it too. You know what I mean. They are so cute you will put up with sleepness nights and poop on the floor. Well Toph has this power in spades, combine it with good happy kids and it is almost more than I can handle. So much cuteness! Must resist! House needs cleaning!

Back soon I have pictures of knitting!

WTF??

Yesterday is was 50,sunny and great outside weather. Today? 20, rain, wind and muck. Gotta love the Midwest!

We got a dog carrier for Toph to sleep in. Mom has a big one for us I can pick up in April so this one is medium sized. She slept in there for about 3 hours last night. Then Hubby let her out for business and then she spent the rest of the night on his chest. I am glad she is bonding with him too. Poor Hubby needed the extra love. His work truck broke down on the interstate as he was driving home last night. Lucky for him he was able to get off at an exit and park the beast. It has 198,000 miles (this is not a joke!) The company just ordered him a new truck. He should have it soon.

I hope to order more yarn blanks later this week. I want to brake out the spring colors again. It is so drab here today

In knitting news I whipped up a quick baby gift to send to a friend of Moms. Pictures when the light returns. The little one is the first grandchild of a dear friend.
Sock Pal's sock are really close to being done. Just foot/toe of #2.
Gotta go snuggle with cute little blond kid and dogs. Don't I have a rough life?

Toph Update

We had our visit with the vet today and she is great. Vet says Aussie shep and lab (he thinks) She does not like to ride in the car and sat on MB's lap with her nose in his arm pit for the ride home. MB for his part keep telling her " its ok Toph, We are your family now" Both the kids are worried that Toph missed her brother and sister (one was already gone when we got there). The kids are so sweet with her. Winston rolls Toph over when ever he gets the chance. The vet says this is normal and unless there is angry growl not to correct Winston. Toph seem to understands this and will submit most of the time.

It seem most of the puppies went home yesterday as well as many of the older dogs. It breaks my heart to see so many older dogs there. We tried mature dogs but Winston wasn't into it. He seem to understand Toph is a baby.

In more good news it is almost 50 here today! and sunny! lots of outside time today. I hope this mean all the kids will sleep well tonight!

Meet Toph

The local shelter was overflowing with puppies and we just couldn't say no. They even lowered the fee. She is 2 month old Aussie Shepperd mix (lab we think) Winston loves his new friend. He is watching her sleep right now. The MK's are over the moon. I love her.

There were so many dogs there. I hope they all are as lucky as Toph.

Btw Toph is named for a blind earthbender. Yea we're geeks. What of it?

eta: Toph has decided she is my dog. If she is not playing with the mks she is on my lap. She wants to sleep on my chest. Did I tell you I love her?

Hubby Made the Cut

So Hubby went to the screening last night. Not only is he in the movie but he got a huge laugh from the audience. There are pictures here. You can see hubby if you look at the Behind the scenes photos. He is the one is the shiny black shirt with the doo rag on his head. He is in the first 10 minutes of the film for about 25 seconds. Hubby is thrilled. I need to check with SAG but this should get him his SAG card. Pretty cool eh? BTW the film is called For the Love of Amy.
The whole thing was shot here in town. We know quite a few people in it. The great thing is the director really liked Hubby. Lets all keep our fingers crossed that this leads to another part. Alexander Payne is shooting his next movie here.

Dear Media

Please stop telling us this election is about race and gender. I am sick of hearing about it. I am much more interested in how the candidates would get us out of the war and help the middle class. We understand the historic significance of having a woman and an African American running. Personally I want to live in an America where this happens all the time, it is what America is all about really. So if the media would be so kind as to focus on the important things this voter would be most grateful.
Thank You

Just to note I have not yet had to vote and have not really picked a candidate. All 3 of the top dems have their own appeal. I don't really think any Bush backer will get elected but then again I still believe Al Gore won. The primary here comes almost too late to matter but maybe not this year.

We will now return to our regularly scheduled programing.

Stuff

Well it is another cold day here in the heartland. about 12 above now. The weather man says it will be 48 on Monday! WTF?

Anyway, I have started listing some of my fabrics on Etsy. I have more coming. I figured I would list them on Etsy cuz its cheaper and there is lots of fabric listed already. Hopefully it will sell and attract some new people to the shop. I am waiting to hear back from Jess at Ravelry about my Yarnie profile there. Hope that will help drive sales a little.

As for knitting I have sock pals 2nd sock otn and should have plenty of time to get them done before the end of the swap. The round blanket is coming along. I am worried I don't have enough yarn for the knit on border so I may have to put it on hold again. I thought I had enough odd balls to finish it up but it is eating yarn at a fantastic pace now. I may need to order some to finish.

Made it to Knit Night last night. Had a great time, met some cool new people and saw the new L&V yarns.Yum!

Gotta run, MB wants me. Nice to be wanted eh?

Spring colorways!

Here are the new spring colors. These colorways are repeatable so just let me know what you like.

From the top we have :

Acid Test

color to be named later, and

ctbnl.

Not so great with the names today. These are the test skeins for the new colorways. I hope to do more of these if they prove popular. Each of the above is 240 yards dk superwash merino. I think they would look great together as a baby blanket of something. Let me know what you think.

Also would you say my pictures have improved? Went back to the old camera.

New Yarns for BunkyBoBos

How about these? Strawberry Float (superwash wool/nylon sock yarn) and New Stars (dk superwash wool)

I have 2 more drying.

new stuff.

Here are 3 of the things I've made up over the last few days.

The red and white message board is 12" tall be 6.5" wide. The box is 2.5" deep and 4" across. Both of these will go up in the shop. The 3rd holds those plastic bags you get everywhere. I save them and use them for all kinds of things. This cool container had Lysol wipes in it. I just jazzed it up a bit. I don't think I will list that one but I have another one of these containers... Found materials are so much fun. I just sort of play around until something works for me. I am also working on 2 covered note books, and another message board.

Velvet Grapes

So I got 2 hanks of Malabrigo yarn at me LYS year end sale. I knit a little beanie for MB which he loves and then started a scarf. He declared it "soft" and "Mine". So I finished up the first skein and gave it to him. He loves it. Soft and warm. The 2nd skein of this beautiful yarn is getting knitting into a Tam. I love this yarn! the color is amazing and it is so soft! I dream of knitting a Malabrigo sweater!

The color btw is Velvet Grapes.

Socks are flying along and non knit projects are ready for photo shoot. Should be a busy day, even if it is flippin cold here.

Cold and Crafty

It is cold! I am used to winter and don't mind the cold so much but this bone chilling below 20 crap just defeats me. I would like nothing more than to sit under a pile of wool all day but the MK's don't like to let me sit still for that long. MG is home from school(MLK day) today so indoor winter fun is the key today. I have a bag of home made play dough all ready. They will spend hours playing with that stuff. The trick is to keep it out of the carpet. The Wii keeps them busy too.

I have 3 non knitting projects going right now I hope to finish today. They would have been done but I can not make the finish cure any faster. I will show you tomorrow. Yesterday was good. I was feeling very creative and relaxed which always leads to good things.
Well time to feed the Monsters.

Dream in Color

How much does this rock? My Sock It To Me Twice pal has sent me another package. Yes the yarn is Dream in Color! Smooshy Int color is Vino Variates. I love it! It is a deep rich wine color. And soft!

There is also some goodies from Woolgirl.com.

A very cute tape measure that just makes me smile. Some yummy lip balm, (I needed some of this!) some fun note cards, and a Thomas Joseph calendar. I love the sheep. There is also a bar of dark mint yumminess. I have hidden the rest. Mine Mine!

Thank You Sock Pal! I love it all! Dream in Color! I have wanted some of this for a long time! You Rock my stash!

One for the House Elves

How's this for a quick project? I cast on last night after the MK's went to bed and by the time I went to bed I had this little hat. The pattern is the Tea Cozy Hat from Charmed Knits. It fits MB but he just got a new hat. I am sure there will be a baby sometime for this little hat. I used up some odd ball leftovers Knit Picks Wool of the Andes. I wanted some mindless knitting and this fit the bill. Just garter st with a little bit of clever seaming at the top. I wonder if there will be a Charmed Knits 2?

In other news: Hubby's show opens today. This means that next week I can go to knit night! Yea! I have not been out without the kids since just after Christmas. I love them but I need a night off. Hubby has been gone at the theatre every night this week and most of last week. I am a little peeved that I did up all these props for the show and did not even get a thank you from the theatre. Not a word. Nice. Oh well us techies always get the fuzzy end of the lolly pop.

In a bit of good news it looks like Hubby will be taking the MK's to see his Mom in TX for spring break. I am not going on this trip. MIL gets very stressed if I don't let her have her way with the kids and it makes me nuts. Also with what is going on with her I want the kids to have a really great visit with her to remember when things with MIL start to get really bad. Less stress for her is the key to this I think so I will have a week to myself! I think I am going to go visit my folks. Mom and I never get to spend enough time together so this will be great. I will get to visit with GAL too and maybe see GAH as well. I think another adventure weekend is in order.

I can't wait! Is it April Yet?

Cold

It is cold here and colder still tommrow.Poor little MB wants to play outside in the worst way but it is bonechilling out there so we are going to make cookies instead. and maybe dye some of the spinning fiber I have.

In knitting news: one secret project left here today. I forgot to take pictures, sorry. My sock pal socks are coming along. 1 leg done, Maybe I can turn that heel today. My pal has cold feet so I am making warm socks.

In other news: The first E-bay listings will go up over the weekend. I have some cool stuff to list..

Stay Warm!

Update

Poor Hubby was up late last night trying to see if he can fix the wheel. When I went to bed he was looking at pictures and muttering to himself. I told him not to feel bad.

In happier news secret project is all knit. I have a little finishing to do. My sock pal socks are started (again) and should progress quite fast now. It is a easy pattern.
I am wanting to start another sweater but don't have sweater yarn in my stash so will instead get to work on the wine bag I told Mom I would make for her. Shouldn't be hard... Maybe I'll add a little colorwork to jazz it up.

I spent all of yesterday making scrapbook covers for Hubby's show. I got 7 done and 1 nearly done. Not bad for one day. I was able to use stuff I had on hand and not have to buy anything. The only direction the director gave me was to make them tacky. Fun! I love the tacky!

btw Ms Snark sent me some wonderful homemade soap and beautiful yarn. I will have to get pictures later. I love the soap! I would try soap making but I hear it can be pretty toxic and the kiddos get into everything so...none of that for me. Thanks Ms Snark! You Rock!

Update

The flyer is the right one. It has to go back. Unless I can get someone to carve me one I am out of luck. Kromski redesigned the wheel I have about 10 years ago. (10 years after mine was made) The "Mother of all" is a different size. Not only that but new bobbins will not fit it so unless I come across parts on e-bay the wheel won't really work. I guess I am not meant to use this wheel. Hubby says he can make it work but he wants to drill holes and change things. I don't really think that is a good idea. I had better start saving my pennies for a new one.


ETA: Hubby wants me to keep the flyer. He feels he can make a new "Mother of all" to make the flyer fit. He has promised not to mess with the parts of the wheel as they are now. Just replace the one. I figure I will let him try. I can always sell or trade the flyer later if it does not work and have the old one intact.

I think my wheel is cursed

My quick change set came today and it does not fit on my wheel. No way in hell. Not a chance. WTF!!!!! I am waiting to hear if maybe they sent me they wrong size. I really hope so. I am really starting to feel like this wheel just does not want to work for me. He must be lazy. and He must be a He. I feel even worse for Hubby who feels so badly that the vintage wheel he bought is giving me grief. He has decided if I ever get another wheel it will be brand new. Poor guy. He tried so hard. As a new wheel is not really an opition now I will just have to keep my fingers crossed.
With any luck (and I could use some) it was a shipping error and a new part will do the trick.

I have some props to get done for Hubby's show today. Show opens in 4 days. Thanks for the warning guys.

Puppy update

Well as of right now we are not taking the puppy. The lady had him all ready to go and her kid freaked out and now she wants to keep him. She has to move out of her house in February so who knows. We had not told the kids so we are not to upset. We do want to get a 2ND dog but will wait for a little while I think. We have checked out all of the local rescue groups and are keeping an eye out.

As to everything else. The movie Hubby did a scene for will have a screening on the 26th. I am going to try to find a sitter so I can go with Hubby. We fear they may have cut him because they never filmed his 2nd scene. Should still be cool. Lots of people we know in it and shot here in town. I might even get to meet Issac(from the Love Boat!).

In knitting news the secret projects still rule here. The round blanket is about 33" across now. I think I need a longer needle to hold 576 sts. I have put it aside for now. We will see how long it takes to get back to it.

In Spinning: I am getting better at drafting and joining a new piece of fiber. I just need to practice a bit more. There is a bit of a learning curve but I am enjoying the new challenge. I will have some pictures sometime. My on the bobbin photos always come out a little blurry.

New Yarn!

So here is Justine(above) and Pea soup. Justine is up in the shop. Pea soup tomorrow. I love Justine. I used short runs of color. Each color appears twice in each run. The color in the picture is good. Yea for daylight! I have 4 more new yarn to list over the next week.
Top secret knitting goes on. One project to be done this week. Gotta go more yarn to dye!

My Monkey

See the Monkey in this picture? I got him from the warehouse. He was a prop for the tour of Secret Garden. Well I looked him up on line yesterday. My friend from the tour company told me the director bought it at a shop in NYC and paid a lot for it. Well he was made in Japan. He is made of Bronze. And he is worth about enough to put gas in my truck for a month. I have 4 other items from this same shop. My friend made me take them so they would not be put in a dumpster. One is an inkwell that is brass (I think, still has its glass). I also have a large ink bottle, an other Monkey(this one is a broken lamp), and a rocking horse.
I have wanted to put some things up on e-bay for a while and I think I will add some of these items too. I need to do a little more checking first.

Update

So the broken flyer is glued and gaffe taped back together. It seems to be holding. Gaffe tape really can fix everything. The new quick change set is ordered, and I will retire the broken flyer. I have a fear of it flying apart and putting an eye out.

I have been knitting like crazy for the last 2 days but can not show you. Super secret projects.

If the sun ever comes back I will have new yarns to list.

Well that is all the time MB will let me spend on the computer today. He wants to read books!

My toy broke

I could not get the bobbin off the spindle. Hubby said he would help me and took the whole deal down stairs. He whacked it with a hammer( I had no idea he was going for a hammer) and this happened. Can't really afford a new part or even if a new one would fit my older wheel. none on E-bay.I can get a quick change flyer set. It uses different bobbins. Guess its a good thing I have not ordered more bobbins. I am trying really hard not be bummed, but the thing can't spin now and I just got the hang of it and filled my first bobbin. Gonna go cry now.

Back to school

MG went back to school today. She was happy to go and see her friends and teachers. MB is pretty happy to have the place to himself. It will be good for him to get back into his grove. He is now happily playing with his animal friends on the sofa. He likes to set up all of his stuff guys up and read them the Degio books GAL got him for Christmas. I can't seem to catch him at it long enough to get a picture.

In other news.
We have been offered a Basset Hound puppy for free. He is 3 mouths old and had his shots and is named Mater. You know like Trmater without the Tr. The owner has to move out of her house to a small apartment and may have to give up the puppy. We have not said anything to the kids yet because it may not happen if the owner can find a way to keep him. We should know in the next day or 2. We have been thinking about another dog but have put it off for a while when I left work. We told her we would take him if she and her daughter could not keep him, but we understand if they want to find a way to keep him. This is why we have not told the kiddos about him.(Please don't tell them) Besides they will freak out when we go to pick him up and Hubby and I can be Heroes for at least one evening. This would be the best time to have a puppy because I am home. We think Winston will do well. He has mellowed a bit. He get along great with other dogs. We will have to wait and see.

I did It!

I stayed up late last night with my wheel. I think I got it figured out. I just needed a piece of tape. One of the tension things kept slipping so I put a small piece of gaffers tape over the top of the peg and it works! Gaffers tape really can fix anything! and it won't leave any sticky stuff on the wood. I spun about half a bobbins worth last night but had to stop around 2 am cuz I just couldn't see straight anymore. Today I'm going to the library to pick up some spinning books and see what I do next. Maybe I'll have some hand spun to show later this week!

I just want to add here that the kindness of bloggers amazes me. Ms Snark sent me lots of pictures I had not found yet and told me I did not need the Scotch tension thing I am missing. That she would take time out of her day to help me Rocks! Thanks again! and thanks to the gals at knit night for cheering me on.

Well I am off to spin some more.

My Wheel

So here she is. What you see here is everything I got with it. Any ideas? Am I missing a part?

Witty Title

Ms Snark asked about my wheel in the comments. She is a Kromski Mazurka. She is just like the Minstrel( I think) except mine is a single treadle (bet I spelled that wrong). btw Ms Snark your wheel is so pretty! love the new banner. (click on the link and check out her new shoes. I need me a pair of those!)
I will take some more pictures of her today to post.

I set the wheel aside yesterday to try some new dyes. I got a new black and it does not crack! I got black yarn! a little uneven but still black none the less. Yeah! now if I could just get the red I want. I also got some neon colored food coloring to play with. I think brighter colors for spring are in order. But not today. Today the Mk's and I are going to the zoo to see the baby penguins. They were to be hatched just before Christmas. I love being a zoo member. I can take the kids for an hour or the whole day and it cost me nothing! Memberships to our zoo are about $75.00 per year and it pays for itself after 2 trips. As a side note we had some folks from China here to check out our zoo. Seems there is a chance of us getting a Panda or 2 here! That would be so cool.

Update

So I can spin a little on my wheel but I am having a problem getting the yarn to wind onto the bobbin which is causing me to over twist (I think). I have looked up my wheel on line and mine looks different from the one in the picture. Hubby bought what I think is a restored wheel. It does not have a spring thingie like the newer ones do. I am going to send an e-mail and see what I can do. I wonder if I can get that part? I am sure there is a why to make it work I just can't seem to find it yet. I need to work on drafting too.

In knitting news: I have been playing around with a lot of projects but not really finishing anything. The round blanket is coming along. I think about 75 more rounds should do it. I try to knit on it here and there.

The green hand warmers are coming along. I should finish the first today. I need to go feed the Monsters now.

new yarns for GAL

So here we have some new hand dyes. The top is black again this time with a dark blue undertone. 220 Yards worsted wool. Good for felting.
Next is 440 Yards worsted. Semi solid Royal Blue. Same fiber as above, good for felting. A wide range of color here. I love it.


The Orange/Yellow is 70% Mohair/30% Wool. A deep yellow over dyed with red. 380 Yards fingering weight. A one of a kind.
The last is a bad photo(the color is good) of 2 semisolid Aqua and Burnt Orange. 110 Yards each dk weight wool. Also good for felting.
Guess I've been on a semi solid kick lately. I have 2 skeins of sock yarn soaking now. I am hoping to place a wholesale order for my blanks next time. More $$ up front but less $$ in the long run.

In personal news I got the guest room turned back into my office. It is nice to have a place to spread projects out where the kiddos can't get them.. I got a new craft table for Christmas and it holds a lot of stuff. I now have all my craft stuff together. I have a lot of junk. I may put some things up for sale on Ebay that I will never use. I also hope to get my sewing machine out again.

Happy new year!

In the spirit of the new year, here are my goals for 2008:

1 Make BunkyBoBo's a success. Figure out how to make Etsy work for me and sell more yarn

2 Spin yarn I can knit something with. Master my wheel, and learn to spin.

3 Knit my self a sweater that fits.

4 Knit 6 pairs of socks from my stash. 1st is already OTN

5 Teach MB to read. Help MG read better

6 Quit Smoking.

I hope New Years finds you all well. The best to all of you in 2008.