I've Got My......

Baby back, baby back, baby back. (Sung to the Chili's Baby Back Ribs commercial)

We went to pick him up today. My Mom was going to bring him back, but she was having pool issues and we had to go see if there was anything that we could do to fix it.

I was so excited to get there. We stopped at Home Depot on the way to get some lights and then Kevin wanted to show me the patio furniture that was on sale. I just wanted out of there to go get James.

Finally we made it to my Mom's. We got in the door and we hear "MOMMY!! DADDY!!" Then he ran to hug us. It felt so good to have him in my arms again. I feel complete again. I got to get my hugs and kisses good night tonight. It felt so good.

Poor little guy had a busy time at Grandma's. He fell asleep in the car on the way home. Of course when he does that he is really upset when he is woke up. I got to sit and snuggle with him while we watched some educational TV. I didn't complain one bit. It was nice to snuggle with him again.

He decided after he ate some mac n cheese (his toddler staple) he asked for a wash cloth and to go to bed. So I wiped him off, brushed his teeth and got him dressed for bed. He was one tuckered out little guy.

I didn't get the basement finished, but I got a good amount done. I am hoping to get it done by the end of the week at the latest. I am so close, but so far away. I can't use the sweeper down there while James is sleeping since we have hard wood floor through out the entire house and the part that I am working on is right under his room. The noise comes straight through and I surely don't want to wake him. So it will have to be done after Kevin gets home from work each day. That's OK.

Tomorrow it is back to normal for James and I. I hope that he didn't pick up any bad habits while at his grandma's. ;)

Wait until you see what grandma bought him. I hope to have a picture of him and it tomorrow.

Alone

Here I sit. Alone. Kevin is at work. James is at my Mom's. I am here slowly cleaning the basement. I have lost my focus so I am taking a break. Heck I might just go to bed after this.

I knew that I would miss James, but man do I miss him. I have already cried a few times. I didn't get to tuck him in and kiss him goodnight. I miss my "squeezie hugs" that he gives me. I miss him crawling into mu lap with books wanting me to read it to him. He has only been there for just a little over 6 hours and I feel lost without him. He won't be back until Sunday afternoon.

I have made my Mom promise to call me if James didn't want to stay. I don't care what time of the day or night it is. Is it sad that I am hoping for a call?

I am sure that he is having fun and being completely spoiled, but I miss the little guy deeply. I keep thinking that I hear him in his room and I have to keep reminding myself that he isn't here. I can safely say that he has my heart for sure.

I have been trying to keep busy, but seem to be failing miserably. Sunday can't come soon enough for me. Am I being selfish feeling this way? Why is it so hard for me to let him spend a few days at his Grandma's? I know that he is safe and being very well taken care of. Heck Kevin and I stopped to get something to eat on the way home and I looked back in his car seat ready to get him out and almost burst into tears. I am sure that you all think I am crazy. I can safely say that I love that little guy more than anything.

Well if you made it this far, thanks. I needed to get it out and the dog just doesn't seem too interested. He is more into sleeping on the couch at the moment.

Ravelry

As so many before me have said...."Ravelry is a time suck". OMG the wonderful things that are on there. You can spend hours upon hours looking at other people's things.

Currently I have been working on adding my books, then I guess I will try and tackle some of the yarn stash. The yarn will be a constant work in progress for sure. There are so many pictures to take and then to get it into the right place labeled and all. It is going to take some work.

Well I guess you know by now that I have got my invite and am in. Please bear with me as I stumble my way through it.

Look me up I am knittedtoat (more on that name to come). If I haven't found you yet look me up and add me to your friends then I will add you to my friends as well.

Well I am off to do some more cleaning. I will be child free this weekend and I have big plans for our basement. My Mom has requested James for the weekend and she is picking him up tomorrow morning. Ok so I am not going to go clean just yet. ;) Honestly I don't know what I am going to do with out the little guy here. I already am getting that scared anxious feeling. I know that he is going to be with my Mom and will be safe, but I won't have him here to hug and snuggle. I think it is going to be harder on me than him for sure. I have already told her that if he cries and wants to come home that she has to call no matter what time of day or night it is. I know I am sad, but he is only 2.

I am really going to clean now. LOL

Acquisitions at HHFF

Yeah I know. It is a little late, but hey, better late than never. I thought that I would finally share with you my acquisitions that I got from the Hoosier Hills Fiberarts Festival.

First up is the Merino Roving.

I just loved the colors. It looked like It would spin up into interesting yarn. So I got 1/2 lb of it. It came from Anne's Fiber Expressions. She had some really nice things. It was hard to pick just one.


Next is the 50/50 Merino Tencel

I have never tried the Merino Tencel blend and this color just called to me. It looks silky smooth. I am very interested in how it spins up. I picked it up from River's Edge Weaving Studio. Oh was their stuff nice.


Then there are these.

This little beauty is 4oz of 100% Merino. Love the colors. Seems I am all about color lately.


Yet another 100% Merino. I know the colors look a little familiar to the first one. A girl can never have too much color in their life.


This is a Merino and Silk blend. I love the feel of it. I hope that it spins up as well as it feels.

I got all 3 at Hooked on Felt. She had some really nice rovings and I just couldn't choose one, as you can tell.


Next is BFL.

Fleece Artist BFL. Need I say more?.


Fleece Artist BFL. 65% Wool 35% Silk. Yep another silk blend, but this time with BFL. Yummy BFL.

These were purchased from The Trading Post.


Next up is the fleece.

The fleece was purchased from Different Things Farm. They weren't sure what type of sheep it was from, but I really liked it and bought it. It was labeled that it was from sheep #7, so your all's guess is as good as mine on what type it is. It looks to have a good crimp. So we will see how it washes and combs up.


I picked up a little something for James too.


These were too adorable to pass up. He loves puppets and I thought that these would make a great gift to bring him back. Yes, he does love them. We play with them quite a bit. Looking back I should have gotten more of them. They had a ton of different ones. I got them from Mount Ampato Alpacas.


Finally we have these.

9.8oz and 11.8oz of 100% Alpaca in Black, White and Rose Brown.


9.8oz 100% Alpaca Black, Grey. Reminds me of an Oreo.

I drooled over these all day, but waited to close to heading home before purchasing it. I knew that I would never be able to resist, but I wanted to make sure that I was able to get a good variety of things before this purchase. I made this purchase from Frontier Fiber Mill. Oh, was all their stuff nice. I so love Alpaca!

All in all I think I did pretty well. I got a good variety of wools, textures and such. Now it will be all about the spinning for a while.

Friday Fun

Friday I headed over to my friend Susan's store Ball and Skein. Kevin was off work, so I took the day off and went to hang out and do some spinning.

Let me tell you how freaking cool her shop is. It is in the old jail in Germantown, Ohio. It might just be me, but I love things like that. I love the fact that the town has kept it and not knocked it down for development.

Let me give you a little tour of the shop.

ETA: Here is her address for those of you that seem interested. ;)

Ball & Skein
11 North Cherry Street
Germantown, Ohio 45327

(937) 855-3211 - if you go tell her I sent you. :)

Here is the front of the building. There are windows on three sides of the front, like a sun room. I so dig the natural light.
(As always, click for bigger)


How could you resist the sheep door mat? After seeing that you just have to go in and see what else is waiting for you.


This is one of the things that you see when you first walk in. This is the old front of the jail house. I love the windows. There are at least 4 of them like this.


Here is a view out toward the front window. There are all kinds of things like this in the shop. You feel like you step back in time. It is so warm and cozy.


Another toward the front. She has yarn and books in the cute cabinet. There is goodness overflowing everywhere.


Not only is there yarn, but there is roving and fleeces! Check out how she has some of it displayed. How cool is that?!


Take a look at the models for the sweaters. Click to make it bigger. Is that not too funny?! I loved it. I was laughing so hard when I saw them. Plus Susan knit both of those sweaters! On the left is a nice selection of Cascade 220. On the right is a really good selection of Fleece Artist yarn and roving. She told me that more is on its way, including their sock yarn.


Here is more roving. In the back I believe is the Green Mountain Spinnery yarn. Look at the jail door. I love it. After Susan slammed her thumb in it, I don't think she likes it too much any more. It has been safely tucked back behind a chair and more yarn and roving so that no one else gets hurt. So how is that thumb Susan?

If anyone is in the Dayton area you might recognize the cup on the table. Yep that is from Marion's Pizza. They have some seriously yummy pizza so we had to indulge.


Here is Opal's Neon sock yarn. All the colors are so fun and bright. There is a black fleece under it, but I am not sure what it is.


I was really good and restrained myself. I only bought 2 Fleece Artist Blue Faced Leicester rovings and some wool scour to wash some fleece. I couldn't choose just one color so they both had to come home with me. I also got the latest Spin Off while I was there.


All in all it was a nice day. Friends, fiber, and good food. What more could you ask for?. We will have to do it again some day soon.

Buddy Walk

Mindy of Sharp Pointy Sticks is raising money for the Buddy Walk in support of her son Liam and other children with Down Syndrome. You can read her post about it here.

She set a goal of $1000.00 and 10 people to walk. I know as knitters, spinners, crocheters and whatever craft you might do, as a community we can pass that goal above and beyond what she has set. I have seen the amazing things that can happen when we all pull together.

Click on the button and it will take you directly to Mindy's donation page. You can donate to anyone on the list or as a group.



I will also have the button on the side bar for you to click along with the total raised.

She will be having a drawling for prizes for those who donate as well and she really has some nice things so far. If you can't donate cash, but have something that would would like to donate as a prize she would appreciate that too. Remember every penny adds up and helps.

Please feel free to steal the button, but remember to save it to your own server. Thanks!!!

I thank you and I know that Mindy thanks for you for your support.

Happy 4th

I would like to wish everyone a Happy 4th of July.

Thanks to all the men and women in the past, present and future that fight for our freedom. I pray for all of them to be safe.

There is another thanks that is due. This one goes to Beth. While at the Hoosier Hills Fiberarts Festival she gave me a bag of fibery goodness. There was so much good stuff in there I just have to show you a picture so you can experience my joy.


Top Left to Right: Light blue ball - Thrumbs from Spinderella, Pink & Grey - Spunky Eclectic wool blend, Blue, Teal & Gold - Australian roving from Hollyspring, Green & Yellow - Shetland Kool aid dyed.
Bottom Left to Right: Pink & Orange - BFL Kool aid dyed, Rainbow - pre-drafted coils of Superwash merino, Purple, Blue & Brown - Crown Mountain Farms Pencil roving, Blue, Purple & Green - Crown Mountain Farms 50/50 Merino/Tussah silk, Light Cotton Candy Pink - Ingeo (corn)


Here are some closeups for your drooling pleasure.

Beth said that they were just little samples so I could see what some of the fiber was like. I call it manna from heaven. :) Really how could free fiber be a bad thing? I have been petting and fondling it for a while now. Guess I need to start spinning it. I am sure that it will make some really cute mini skeins. Maybe I will have enough of some of it for something for James or I could use it all and make an interesting scarf or hat. Guess I will figure that out when I get to that point.


Have you been looking for yarn or fiber? I am sure that by now you know that the old Destash site has been defunked. Well there are 2 more that I know of that have started up from that. I have them both listed on my side bar. The first one is Destash!. The second one is Yarn Sale or Swap (YSOS). I have listed some things on there. If you might be interested stop on over and take a look.