Springtree Road

Happy Caturday!

Zasha in the window, trying to nap if not for me click click clicking my camera in her face.

Time is moving too fast ... Countdown ... T-minus 10 weeks to baby snuggles ...

Happy Caturday!

Roxy, listening to V...

Happy Caturday! Hope it's a good one. 

Julep + Navarre + tomorrow

Hola! Here's the info on the next shop update.

I'll have mainly Julep Sock, plus Navarre Sock in the three colors above. Hope to see you there!

Happy Caturday!

These photos are from Christmas day. Here's Roxy enjoying the pretty lights.

I've been feeding the cats their raw food diet for more than a month now; R and I are impressed with the changes we've seen. They were never hugely overweight, but they have slimmed down beautifully. The other day R said what I'd been thinking for a while - that they are softer with shinier coats. They play together more often and more energetically. They even play alone more often too (especially Zasha - Roxy has always had more energy than Zash).

Roxy has not peed anywhere since she started eating raw. And before I started feeding her this way, her breath smelled really bad. Like really bad. It wasn't her teeth; I felt like it was a sign that something was about to go very wrong. The bad breath is gone, as is Zasha's chronic dandruff. It takes a little time to make it, but I can make a week's worth or two (or more, if I had the freezer space) at a time. I may sound like crazy cat lady, but I don't care. To me it's better than having to take Roxy to the vet constantly for antibiotics and catheterization, which I believe is the direction we were headed. I'll happily take on the name crazy cat lady. 

Since we're all about the cats here, let me tell you the tale of this little Beanie Baby. Thanks to Maiz telling me of them, one of V's favorite series of books is about Jenny Linsky, a shy little black cat who has many adventures. Jenny wears a red scarf that her owner, a retired sea captain, knitted for her. No one makes licensed Jenny Linsky dolls, so I decided to put one together as best I could as a special present from me to V this Christmas. I found a black Halloween Beanie Baby that had the closest Jenny-look about her and cut the collar off her. Then I knitted a red scarf for her and tied it around her neck. I ran out of time to make the little baubles that go at the end of the scarf and planned to do this later, but V says she likes Jenny just as she is. 

New colorways: the Aoifes

So I was dyeing some yarn this week and had an idea for one - greens and blues and turquiose, but darkened by gray.

So I did up 4 skeins of Julep Sock in turquoise. Then added some leafy greens. Next was to come the gray, but when I pulled them out of the pot they were so vibrant and beautiful I couldn't cover them all with gray.

So I did two and left two alone. Here's one of each.

I love how the gray glazing changes their personality. Some might think it makes them even more beautiful, while others might prefer the more vibrant version.

So I'll have two of each of these - I'm calling the vibrant one Aoife and the other one Dark Aoife - in the next shop update this Thursday, January 12th at 10am Eastern. Hope to see you there!

Happy Caturday!

Zasha, snoozing on my bed. Today feels like a lazy Caturday to me too...

If you've taken a photo of your sweet kitty recently that you'd like to share, please feel free to leave a link in the comments.

Socks!

Yay!

Finished my first pair of socks for this year!

Five pair to go. Now I'm going to knit a pair for me as soon as I find the right pattern - the yarn will be my Muscadine in Tanis. This time I'm going for less simple, more pretty. 

Let me know if you have any suggestions!

Introducing Julep Worsted!

Julep Worsted is my new yarn base - it's the same squishy blend as my Julep Sock - superwash Merino + cashmere + nylon, but it's a heavy worsted skein of 180 yards.

I think this one is my favorite, Rainforest.

Yummy yum yum! I'll have five colorways coming tomorrow, but not in sweater quanties. If you fall in love and find you need enough for a sweater, just send me an email after the update and we'll talk!

Crafty resolutions for 2012

Happy New Year!

Who doesn't love a fresh, new year? The other day I was thinking of some crafty things I would love to do this year. Here's the list I came up with:

1. Knit 12 socks (6 pair)
I dye and sell sock yarn, yo! I should be knitting with this yarn too. Right?! There never feels like there's time, but I have come to realize that the first thing I do when I get up in the morning is go sit on the sofa with V for about a half hour before we get on with our day. Surely I can use 15 minutes of that time to work on a sock.  

2. Knit at least a couple of Christmas gifts for this year
Not everyone I know would appreciate a hand-knitted Christmas gift, but I can think of at least three off the top of my head who would. So I'd like to pick 3-5 projects and decide on when I will knit them and see if I can't get that done this year. 

3. Learn how to thread my sewing machine
My friend Kim was kind enough to find this sewing machine for me at a thrift store, clean it, oil it, and fix it up for me. I've made exactly one thing with it. Partially because it's down in the fiber studio - out of sight, out of mind - and partially because I am really intimidated by it.  But I really want to be able to make simple things with it, and I want her to know how much I appreciate the gift by actually using it! V has an idea she wants to bring to life this year and it involves sewing. It'd be so much quicker for me if I could sew it on the machine rather than by hand.

4. Sew a tote bag
Seems like an easy enough first project. 

5. Sew winter PJ pants for the whole family
This is something I've always wanted to do - make PJ pants for everyone annually. I think that'd be a wonderful family tradtion.  

6. Make an Advent calendar
This year just felt so very busy. And every day V would ask me how many more days until Christmas. It's time to get this family tradition started. I want to find something cute and get it together before the end of November. Any suggestions? 

7. Plan a few newborn shots for when Baby H is born
I've always wanted to take newborn shots - now here's my chance! I have a couple of ideas already, but I want to keep my eye on a few photographers for even more inspiration. 

8. Take at least one roll of black and white film with one of my vintage/toy cameras
I had an idea for 2011 that I wanted to take a roll of film per month. In the end, that just felt too overwhelming and I gave up before I even got started. So I'm going to make it easy on myself and just try to take one roll of black and white film. It's something I really want to do. If I can do more than that, great. But if I just get the one done, I'll feel I accomplished something photography-related this year. 

9. Work with V on her business idea
That's right, V has an idea for her own business. She's been talking about it for a good month now and I told her we'd get started on it after the new year. Of course she needs my help for it but she has already come up with ideas for two products and the name for the company all on her own. Of course it's all just fun for her, but I want to make sure I give her the best experience possible with it and to handle it all in the right way, as appropriate for her age and skills.

To keep up with all this, I have started a board on Pinterest. My intention is that it will become a mixture of inspiration and my own completed projects.

So, to get my crafty 2012 started off with a bang, I've begun my first pair of socks (here's my Rav project page for all the details).

Everything else I think I can do, as long as I plan when to do them, gather the materials sometime before the last minute, and possibly print and keep a copy of this post in my datebook.

I have a couple of other resolutions I've made too, but those aren't as fun. One is to floss my teeth every day in 2012. I used to do this, but fell out of the habit. I'd also like to get back to being plant-strong. That's my eternal struggle, apparently. And getting much, much, much more organized. I plan to do this with help from a book I found through Ginny at Small Things. The book is called Organizing Solutions for People with Attention Deficit Disorder. While I don't have ADD, my life is sufficiently busy enough that I get pulled in 20 different directions throughout the day and end up accomplishing maybe one thing when I should've finished five. This book has ideas for organization that just make sense to me. They're not always pretty, but if it's easier to clean up my house, I think it'll get done that much more often.

What about you? Any resolutions, crafty or otherwise? 

Merry Caturday!

Merry Christmas from R, me, & V!

May your days be merry and bright.

Ready for January 1 cast on!

I joined a sock knitting group on Ravelry - 12 socks in 2012. It starts on January 1st and the goal is to knit 12 socks next year. To some I'm sure that means 12 pair of socks; to me it'll very likely mean 6 pair of socks for 12 socks total. Still a worthy goal, I think!

So today I got everything together for my first pair. I wanted something simple because I've never actually completed knitting a pair of socks before. So I'm going with the Ribbed Socks for Kids pattern (Rav link) from the lovely (and prolific designer!) Susan B. Anderson (219 designs! I'm in awe.). I've been wanting to make these for a while with this specific hand-dyed yarn, for my girl.

I gathered everything I need together. I've got my madbird project bag and pattern wallet, with the pattern already inside. I've got my DPNs and stitch markers. Then I threw in some small scissors, a tapestry needle, and my tape measure.

The yarn is a one-off color called Message to My Girl that I dyed for the unwind project earlier this year. It's a pretty, feminine pink on my Julep Sock yarn base. Perfect for Miss V!

I'm so very not good about keeping up with large or ongoing projects like this. Life just feels so busy. But then that's what I like about knitting - it slows you down so you can enjoy the little things. Like the perfect pair of handknit socks. I figure I'll just take it one at a time and do the best I can. The goal is to have fun, after all.

Wednesday morning

It's Wednesday morning before Christmas. I have done a startling lack of Christmas preparation.

Our cat Roxy has been telling me she's bored all morning long. I just now walked into the kitchen and she was staring at the blinds, listening to the birds playing outside. I opened the blinds for her. Both the cats have adjusted well to the raw food I've been making them. Once you get your "Healthy Powder" mixed up, it really doesn't take that long to make the food every week. Hopefully it'll do Roxy good (so far, so good!). They gobble that stuff down like crazy!

Today I'm mailing yarn to New York and Australia.

I'm also thinking about 2012 and writing down some things I'd like to accomplish,

contemplating what sort of cookies fill this cookie jar with,

and - my favorite - watching V bring her own ideas and designs to life.

Now it's after noon; morning is over. It's time to make lunch, keep up with our reading habit, and see what the rest of the day brings. 

Happy Caturday!

This is Roxy, waiting for her very first raw dinner.

I made the cats some raw food - ground turkey, polenta, nutritional yeast, butter, and assorted vitamins and minerals. Roxy has been having bladder troubles and she's only 2. She's way too young for that sort of thing, so I figured I'd try feeding them raw, homemade cat food. If anyone else has any experience with this, please let me know. I'd love to hear about it.

Last shop update of the year!

It seems that 2011 has flown by! Wow! I don't know about you, but I'm definitely looking forward to what 2012 has to bring.

In the meantime, I'm doing one last big update for the year (though I may add a skein here and there before the end of 2011! Check my Facebook page for info on unscheduled updates.).

The update will be tomorrow morning - Friday, 12/16/11, at 10am Eastern.

All the yarn will be my Muscadine Sock and there will be 8 new colorways!

Have a holly jolly!

Fartlek WIP

It's all over but the decreases - hoping to finish this hat today so V and I can gift it tomorrow!

I'm knitting Anne Hanson's Fartlek hat (Rav link) in my own yarn, Mist on Coquina DK.

I love the yarn (soft and plush), I love the color (the little bits of darker blue just make it for me), I love this project (quick, easy, & satisfying).

Many thanks to Sharon for suggesting the pattern to me.

Next up, I'll be back to knitting on the cardi I'm making for V and hopefully a cardi for Baby H too. 

Happy Caturday!

V took this photo of Roxy with iPad.

Sock yarn coming your way!

Lots of yarn love going on at my house today.

V said she wanted to give every skein a kiss, but soon ran off to make a Christmas card for someone special.

These are a few of the yarns that will be in tomorrow's update.

All sock yarn coming tomorrow - Muscadine, Julep, Emeline - at 10am Eastern. See you tomorrow at the shop!

Happy Caturday!

Zasha really doesn't like her photo taken, but she looked so plump trying to sit on the window sill. I couldn't help myself.

On a day like today

On a day like today...

Where you realize that things you thought were within your control really aren't and there's zilch you can do about it.

Where you walk into the kitchen and your kid is sitting in the floor with two cups of water, the container of sugar open, and an almost empty bottle of lemon juice, making the tartest lemonade you ever tasted.

Where it's really difficult to even make your to-do list, much less carry it out.

What do you do then?

I grabbed a skein of Mist out of the store and sat on the floor with it, winding it into a ball by hand. Then I took Sharon's suggestion on a hat pattern and purchased Fartlek by Anne Hanson. Now I'm about to make something warm for lunch and then I'm going to knit a hat.

What would you do?

Making a new habit

I've been thinking on ways to deal with having a 6-year-old and a baby. I have no idea what this is going to be like - it's been long enough ago that I don't remember how naps go. I just know the baby is going to need them (and probably me too!).

So it occurred to me that it might be nice to start a habit of some quiet time to read every day. That way, maybe I can catch a nap if I need to? Or just relax?

I don't get to read a lot of fiction these days, so I had a few selfish intentions as well when I declared that after lunch is a "reading half hour" (which I'm secretly hoping will turn into a "reading hour" or even a "reading few hours"). Starting this week, V and I have sat on the sofa for a good 30-45 minutes and each read our own books silently, yet together.

This is what we've been reading this week. Can you tell which books are hers and which are mine?

P.S. If your kid is into gross science stuff, you can't go wrong with the Horrible Science series. V is loving the two I've gotten for her and made a list of 10 more she would like as soon as possible.

New colorway: Mist - & a shop update on Thursday

The next shop update is coming this Thursday morning at 10am Eastern. All the yarns in the update will be in my wonderful new base, Coquina DK, a single ply, 100% superwash Merino yarn. Each skein will be 254 yards and 100 grams. Retail price will be $26.

And here's my final new colorway for this update, Mist.

It's a soft grayish blue, with bits of medium blue just lightly strewn here and there.

Just look at them sitting there, all plump and delicious. Just waiting to be wound into a ball and knitted into something cozy. Or crocheted. They'd be happy either way.

I hope you've enjoyed the previews of the new colorways! The next update will have lots of sock yarns and, just in case you're not into DK weight yarn, each of these three new colorways will be available in at least one of my sock yarn bases.

New colorway: Aubrine

Lately, I've been playing with gray. Yesterday, it was gray + brown, today it's gray + purple, and tomorrow it's a gray + blue, though that one is much lighter in shade.

Meet Aubrine, a smoky, purpley gray. 

I've been looking at baby names for a few months now and I really like names that start with Au - Audrey, Auberon, and August. Then there's Aubrey, which is a family name - one of my grandfather's brothers. Since this yarn is sort of almost an eggplant purple, I combined Aubrey with aubergine and got Aubrine.

Now this is my kind of purple. Or gray. However you want to look at, I dig it. I would love to make a scarf with this colorway, to go with my dark gray coat.

This one will be in the shop on Thursday - more details to come here on the blog tomorrow & through the newsletter, plus the usual social spots.

New colorway: Nutbaby

I'm preparing for the next shop update today - looks like it'll be shaping up for Thursday, but I'll announce that for sure in a day or two. All the yarns in this update will be my new base - a single ply, DK weight, 100% superwash Merino, 100% super squishable yarn.

For this update, I'll have 11 colorways - 3 of them brand new. Here's the first of the three, Nutbaby.

Take some charcoal, shake in some brown, and you get Nutbaby. I think this would make a great hat for your favorite fellow - or for you. 

What's a nutbaby? Well, we have these trees in the backyard and I should know what kind they are, but I just can't ever remember even though my friend Denise told me just a couple of weeks ago. But they give us these just all over the place.

V started calling them nutbabies and it stuck. So it's a nutbaby tree, I suppose.

I wanted to do a strong yarn that would be suitable for a man or a woman and Nutbaby is what what I came up with. The name works, huh? ;)

Please check back tomorrow for details on the second new colorway!

Happy Caturday!

A cute little catbutt for your Caturday. :)

Black Friday sale on hand dyed yarn!

Well, howdy! I'm having a Black Friday sale this year, except I'm starting it on Thursday! If you've been wanting to stock up on Springtree Road yarn - up to 20% off - this is your best chance of the year. 

The sale will start first thing on Thursday and run through Friday night at 11:59pm Eastern. Here are the codes you need to take advantage of the sale:

BLACKFRIDAY3 to get 10% off any 3-4 yarns
BLACKFRIDAY5 to get 15% off any 5-6 yarns
BLACKFRIDAY7 to get 20% off any 7+ yarns

Hope you and yours have a happy Thanksgiving!

And we cheered! Huzzah!

As the ultrasound tech was poking around, V sat on R's shoulders so she could see the TV better. The baby wasn't really cooperating. I kept looking for, um, something - I could see very clearly that V was a girl but this one I couldn't figure out what I was looking at. The wand was moving way too fast.

We're all waiting quietly, looking expectantly, when all of a sudden the tech says, "And it's a boy." Immediately our cheers went up: "YAY! IT'S A BOY!!!! YAY!!!" V clapped and we all laughed.

I'd be surprised if they didn't hear us down the hall.

 

Working together

V and I are working together - on separate things - this morning. I'm mailing yarn and she's making a collage.

It's been a very pleasant morning.

Last night I was going to make hangtags for yarn, but Roxy curled up on me, with her head on my shoulder, and I held her while she slept for more than an hour. I didn't mind.

Today we're going for an ultrasound and we should find out the baby's gender. Any guesses? Everyone I know thinks boy, mainly because this pregnancy is so different from the last one. Last time I had no morning sickness, no allergies, and we called her Bunny because she kicked so much. This time I spent the month of September feeling ill, I'm sneezing constantly, and sometimes I forget I'm preggers because this kid is so calm!  We'll see later today...

Friday afternoon update

The next shop update will be Friday, November 18th, at 4pm Eastern. I'll have some Julep Sock, Muscadine Sock, and Moultrie Sock, plus some Philomath Worsted available.

R's new hat

Hiya! So I finished knitting R's new hat (the Boyfriend Beanie) and I'm planning to take some pictures of him wearing it this weekend. But until then - here it is!

I truly enjoyed knitting with this yarn. It's twisted just enough that it makes those cute, plump little stitches similar to handspun, which I love. And the yarn didn't break on me once. Not to imply that handspun does, but someone asked me about it since this isn't a plied yarn.

I adore it! I can't wait to knit something else with this yarn.

I have chosen a name for the new yarn base from the contest entries and emailed the winner. I'm planning to present the yarns in a few favorite colorways and a few new ones on or around November 28th. Check back for more details or subscribe to my newsletter for info on shop updates.

Kohl for R

Yesterday I dyed up a test skein of my new DK weight, Superwash Merino, single ply yarn base in Kohl for R. I knitted him a hat a few years ago and it's definitely time for another one.

I love this new base! So far, it's everything I dreamed it would be. It is squishy yarn deliciousness! I'm going to knit him the Boyfriend Beanie by Sophie at Haloopa Joop. I'm planning to cast on today. 

There's still time to enter the contest to name this new yarn base and win a free skein. Feel free to add more later if you think of anything else. 

Name this yarn base - win a free skein!

I have a new yarn base in my possession. I'm dropping everything else to start dyeing it on Monday. I'm so very thrilled with it.

And I'd like your help naming it.

About the yarn - it's DK weight, 100% Superwash Merino, single ply, super soft and squishy. So exciting! It's a single! Singles remind me of handpun yarn. I've been wanting to add a single ply hand-dyed yarn to my shop for a good year now.

But back to the name. I'm all give out! Thinking of baby names! Yarn colorway names! Names for all the cats and dogs that V wants to get! I do a lot of naming. So I would love your input.

I have a naming theme going on for my yarn bases - Southern things - Julep (as in mint), Praline (as in pecan), Muscadine (as in vine). I've also used place names - Navarre is a little town in Florida (where R & I honeymooned) and Philomath is a little town in Georgia. I intend to stay with the Southern theme. 

Unique names are best (there are plenty of yarn bases named "magnolia" and "hummingbird"). Place names, food names, pretty names, something else I haven't thought of - all good as long as it feels particularly Southern US.

While I can't promise that I will definitely pick one of your suggestions (though I want to and I very well may), I can promise that I will pick a winner and send that person pictures of the colorways I dye next week before I list them in my shop, let you choose one skein as a prize, and then send it to you (anywhere, worldwide). So you get first dibs! And the first chance to knit with my new yummy yarn base!

So...ideas? Show me what you've got! Just leave a comment before Wednesday, November 16th, at 8pm Eastern and I'll consider it. Thanks so much!