Weekending January 19, 2015

I haven't struggled too much yet with having to write the new year down.  Maybe because I don't actually write what year I'm in too terribly much?

You guys.  Yooooou Guuuuuuys.  I made a mistake.  Ugh.  I drank a cup of the Newmans Own Keurig coffee and while it was delicious, I am feeling really rough because i have given up caffeine.  I decided to splurge and have a cup and now I am feeling really yucky.  ButlookhowfastIcantype!!!!!
WheeEEEeeeEEEeee!  And exclamation marks are soooo FUUUUNNNN!!!!

Lately I have been dealing with some hard emotional times (like I'm really struggling for sure).  I had to soldier on to prepare for Yellow Rose but since I've been home I have been thisclose to being a basket case.  I wish I were one of those people that compulsively cleaned and forgot to eat when I am struggling but instead I am the kind of person thats all 'Sure I like more (insert junk food here)!!  I'll have to eat it over the sink or on a napkin, because there are no clean dishes in pants that I've worn 2 days in a row!!!  And brushing my hair?  I'm so over it.  That's so 2014!'

So, on to my weekend.  I worked Saturday at the yarn shop and then I spent yesterday in sweat pants lying prone and watching movies.  Oh.  My.  Bob.  Cutthroat Island Though?  I really is a as bad as everyone says it is.  I don't know what was worse-The acting, the writing, or the casting.  But woo.  I did think the story was the best part and that it actually had potential to be a better movie with a different cast or director.

And, It was time to switch out my Jamberry wraps since it had been two weeks.  I decided to go with a random design-So each nail has a different wrap.  And I think it is delightfully chaotic!

I did French tips on the pinkie(Je Suis Charlie!), ombre on the ring finger, TARDIS on the middle, painted polka dots on the pointer, and stitched away on the thumb.

Ah, sweet mother of God.  I am actually starting to come down from my caffeine high.  Look!  I can type all normal again!!!!  Though exclamation marks are still GREAT!!!!!!

My goals this week are to finish a knit project, finish spinning bobbin 2 of a three ply I started forever ago, and start to get the house back in order.  I also need to start prepping and dyeing self striping for the trunk show that I am doing at Inskein Yarns over V-Day.

I hope this blog post finds you well and that you aren't struggling to come down from a caffeine high like I am.


Oh!  I almost forgot!  I have been featured on the Undead Yarns podcast.  I am in episode 37.  She and I spent a lot of time chatting and admiring each others work.

Which also reminds me, I need to do a blog about what I bought at the show and show off what I bought from her.

Weekending: The Yellow Rose 2015 Edition

This past weekend, I vended at the Yellow Rose Fiber Producers Festival in Seguin, TX.  Seguin was such a cute little town-with a historic down town and surrounded by historic houses.  We had a good time and met some new people and chatted with some folks that we've met before.

The festival is not usually in January-it's usually in the spring, but there was a scheduling conflict and the only weekend that the Seguin convention center had available was this past weekend-so instead of not holding the show at all, the organizers decided that to have a show at a wonky time is better than not having a show at all.  And yes, the crowds were not huge, but that could also be because there was some weather events happening in the area that made people want to stick close to home.  We still had a good time, and met lots of people, and the attendees were in a buying mood, so while this wasn't fiscally our best show to date, it was not our worst either.  And I think we did pretty well for our first year there AND icy weather!

Katie from The Barbed Dragon and I are definitely looking forward to vending at this show in April 2016.

Here's a little collage of our weekend.

 And here's my Franken Blanket that I've been working on since 2012.  I worked on here a little at the show and at the hotel.

And I have a question for you, dear reader.  What knitting podcasts are you fans of?  I haven't ever been a regular podcast listener, so I am interested in maybe becoming one.  Post what you like about your favorite podcasts in the comment section below.

Wowzer Wowzer Wow! It's December Y'all!!

The older I get, The faster the year goes by.  (Ray says there's some kind of mumbo jumbo sciencey thing that has proven that its not just my imagination.)

Li says that he doesn't want any other gifts just so long as he gets a go-kart.  I would love to get one for him but we just don't live in a place that he can safely ride around in one.  We are all hemmed in by a residential neighborhood and have a tiny yard.  So I tried to let him down gently and logically, but I know he still wants one.  O hasn't really made any specific wants made clear.  Of course, there will be legos.  I guess I ought to have the boys make a list.  Man, when I was a wee thing, I started making my list early and my kids have never really been big Christmas list makers.  I always have to remind them or I just go by the seat of my pants in the shopping.  Speaking of shopping, I haven't done that yet.

We have been very busy lately and I feel like I am constantly moving form one thing to the other right now.  Hopefully I can relax soon and not feel quite so 'Must Do All The Things Now!' for at least a few days!

I have been working on this hat for what feels like forever.  I WILL finish it today!  Theres not much left.

Thanksgiving 2014

Today has been a lovely day filled with family and good things to eat.  My mother, father, step mother, and her aunt came over for lunch today.  Even though I am not really 'feeling it' this year, it was a lovely meal.  The only things from scratch that I made were the turkey, the mashed potatoes, and the cranberry sauce.  Everything else was with frozen or from a box.  And you know what?  That's really just okay.  Today isn't about wowing my family with my amazing cooking skillz(and I do gots them), it really is about spending time with the people that give you joy.  For some of us that's the family we are born into, and for others, it's the family that we create by surrounding ourselves with awesome people.

Now, for a little shop announcement-I am offering free worldwide shipping now through Monday Dec 1.

I hope you are having a good day with people that you enjoy being around.

Brazen Friday 11/21/2014

I apologize for my bloggular silence, folks. This month has been real roller coaster ride.

This week I have been working on getting my items listed in my etsy shop.  And exciting news! My yarn is now available at a real life local yarn shop.  You can find a selection of Brazen Stitchery Yarns at Jennings Street Yarns in Fort Worth, TX.  ::Kermit Arms::

Here are some of the things that have been listed.  I still have some more batts and all the bags to list, so I have a busy weekend ahead getting that done.

Gandalf The Grey

 By Grabthars Hammer

 District 12

 Pure Blood Shorty Stripes

 TARDIS 3Some Stripe

 Captain Tight Pants 3Some Stripe

 The Hero Of Canton 3Some Stripe

 Vincent and The Doctor Batt

 Dodgeball Champion Gradient Batt

 Punky Monkey Gradient Batt

Witches Brew Gradient Batt

 The Hero of Canton Gradient Batt

So, big shop update doings, with more to come this weekend!

San Antonio Family Trip/Kid N Ewe 2014

Kid n Ewe was this past weekend.  So was Otha's 10Th birthday.  Last year I missed his birthday-(I KNOOOW, put me down on the Bad Mom List) and I vowed never to do that again.  So, I asked my booth partner whether she needed me there for put up or tear down.  She told me tear down, so I talked with R and we decided to turn this into an opportunity for a family trip to San Antonio which is not very far from Boerne.  So, last week was even crazier than the normal lead in to an away festival because I was not only crossing my t's and dotting my i's for Brazen Stitchery, but also getting the family stuff together and taking care of animal arrangements and all that stuff.

We took Clarence, The Rescue Bully, with us on trip because I very specifically booked a pet friendly hotel, so there was also making sure that we had everything for him.  Bru went to a friends house and Dot went to my moms. So they each had to have overnight bags and kennels with them as well.  Clarence was great once he settled into the trip and realized that we weren't taking him to the vet, Dot did well with my mom, but Bru had an 'accident' on our friends carpet, so next time we plan a trip, we will have to figure something else out.  She will either have to go to a kennel, or we will have to have someone in to house/pet sit because Urine In The Carpet is not how I want people to remember us.

While down in San Antonio, we saw the Alamo, The Fire Museum, and The Riverwalk.  The great thing about our hotel was that we were just blocks away from all of these things.  So we walked everywhere.

 
Otha chose Rainforest Cafe for his birthday which, unless he chooses it for his next Birthday, I am okay with not ever going there again.  But he had a blast, so that's all that matters.

Then, when we got up on Sunday, we checked out of the hotel and R dropped me off at Kid N Ewe.  Katie worked her tail feather off to get this booth up and was all alone for the first two days.  I don't know HOW she did it, but she did!  We are not happy with booth layout in actuality, what worked great in theory, did not work so great in the real world.  So we are going back to the drawing board on it.

Our next event is Yellow Rose Fiber Producers Festival in Seguin, TX January 9-10.  So, If you missed us this time, you can find us there in a little less than 2 months!

Kid N Ewe Prep

My life is consumed right now with preparing to do Kid N Ewe this weekend.  It's down in Boerne Tx which is close to San Antonio.

Here is a basket of fabulous yarn waiting for their labels.  I only lost 2 of the planned skeins of self striping.  One was so tangled I didn't even try to reskein it, the other went horribly wrong in the reskeining effort, so yarn for me!

 Katie of The Barbed Dragon came over so that we could figure out our booth set up.  She is going down alone and I am coming down the last day to help with tear down.  So, we had to get our booth figured out in my living room.

Life is very frantic right now-I am looking forward to next week when I can feel like I get a breath again.