Remarkable Cow

Big Surprise - Not!

2008-07-23T19:27:51Z

Well I guess it's no surprise to any of you that know me, but I'm a failure as a 30s housewife. This is an honest to goodness actual marriage test from the 30s posted on the internet and then converted into a quiz.

As a 1930s wife, I am
Very Poor (Failure)

Take the test!

Off to see how the old husband ranks.

Oops!

2008-07-01T05:47:03Z

It would appear I made a mistake in my last blog entry. I posted a link that would put Violeta in your shopping cart on Ravelry, which was not my intent. I just wanted everyone to see it was out there and could be purchased. So the better link is the one that goes to my store. I've also edited out the link in the last post. Sorry about that folks and thanks to Janice for finding it!

Yay Deadlines!

2008-06-21T06:30:45Z

Ok, I know that sounds a bit crazy, but hear me out. Back in Feb there was a whirlwind of designing to get Violeta out in time for Stitches West. Thanks to the deadline from Erin at Bobbin's Nest I was able to design and publish my very first for pay pattern. It was wonderfully exciting, but a bit rushed. Also, I didn't have time to develop a brand for Stick Chick Knits, so the pattern was on the generic side. I kept meaning to actually get around to some site design and branding. After I started getting feedback from knitters I realized the pattern wasn't as clear as I would have liked either. So my wonderful little pattern was starting to make me a bit sad. I wanted it pretty and perfect and out on Ravelry and SCK and it wasn't. It sat and sat as a weight on my shoulders for months. Then woosh, I quit my day job and could focus full time. But it wasn't until Wendee at Hazel Knits said she needed copies for a show tomorrow that I finally got off my duff. So thanks to that deadline I hired Ada to tech edit for me and we spent the better part of this last week completely revamping the pattern. If you've got the old version, drop me a note and I'll send you a new copy. After that was done it was a crazy late night with Grant working on the layout. Today was fighting to get it able to print at Wendee's house. But at long last it is done. It is pretty and perfect (to me). It's available for sale on Ravelry. When Grant finishes my site it will be available for sale there too. So I say yay deadlines, without them I wouldn't get anything done. Edited to correct Ravelry link.

A New Group

2008-06-17T05:55:17Z

Miro Crepe

Tonight I went to Miro Tea in Ballard to join my new knitting group. Shockingly enough, I was the first one there. I decided to order the apple, fig and walnut crepe for dinner while waiting for the others to arrive. Doesn't it look tasty? It was.

I met five new folks that share my love of fiber. We chatted, knit and drank tea. It's interesting how one simple shared hobby can bring random strangers together. I had a wonderful time and look forward to going back next week.

Lest you think I didn't get any knitting done, I made some serious progress on my modified manitou 2, this time knit in the Vaa colorway of Malabrigo worsted. It feels very Seattle to me and that is a very good thing.

Modified Manitou 2

Internet at Last

2008-06-14T05:12:14Z

Zig, the cats and I arrived safe and sound in Seattle on Monday. Thanks to our friends Ryan and Sara I was able to tote the kid, the cats and my suitcases, claim my new home and stay sane. Yay for friends. On Tuesday Grant and his Dad arrived. Our stuff, however, will not arrive until next week. So we're sleeping on an air bed and sitting on comforters as couches. Living with very little stuff makes me realize how much excess crap I've got. Really about all I miss is my desktop computer and my couches. Well, now that we have internet access that is. It's been a very long time since I went this many days without an internet connection. Some people say the internet isolates us, but actually, I feel the opposite is true. For me it's a great way to stay in touch with long distance friends and keep up with what they're up to. It's also a great way to make new friends. I've got a new knitting group to go to this coming Monday all thanks to the net. Sure, you could argue that there are better ways to stay in touch and to meet new people. But when you're juggling a family and a new career you're not always free to pick up the phone and chat when you want. Compound that with the fact that your friends and family have lives and suddenly it's very difficult to stay in touch. So hooray for the internet, it's great to be back!

Messy Saturday

2008-06-08T02:35:32Z

Stash Explosion

A while back Mel started talking about Messy Tuesdays. Sounded like fun, but life got away from me. Today we are frantically packing for our big move on Monday and Grant was responsible for everything in the den except my crafting stuff. So this morning I packed up what I thought was all my yarn into a big tub (and some stragglers in the plastic rolling drawers I've got). Feeling good I went on to other rooms of the house. Then Grant called me back to the den.

Apparently, this is all of my crafting stuff (minus the aforementioned yarn). I expected the sewing stuff, but I did not expect even more yarn! Talk about a mess.

My next post will be after the move I'm sure. Be good, have fun and I'll write more next week!

Enigmatic Knitting

2008-05-16T18:55:44Z

I was talking to a friend online yesterday and realized that though I'd agreed to make a pair of socks for her mom, I'd never finished them. So I went digging through my stash yesterday and found this. It's a pattern I was making up as I went along. Of course, I took no notes. So now I have to decide whether to plow on to the end (just have the toe left) and try to decipher my own knitting as I make sock number 2 or if I should just frog the thing and start over. Here's my take, I like the pattern, mostly. Hate what I did with the cuff and am worried it will be too big through the leg. It fits my leg, but it's meant for a woman that is very thin and wears a size 5 shoe. So do I cut off the cuff and work another cuff with smaller needles going up? Will a smaller cuff be enough to make this fit a small woman? Ugh, so much for a quick finish on a lingering UFO.

Guess Where We're Moving?

2008-05-12T19:28:52Z

Last month the owner of our house advised us that she's selling the place. She then kindly offered it to us for $910,000. As we don't exactly have that kind of money we were forced to start looking for a new place to live. We discovered the rental market is abysmal right now. Our choices were back to apartment life (now with added kiddo), switch to a cheaper neighborhood (and give up all the things we love about the Peninsula) or pay $3500 a month in rent. So we voted none of the above. We took a little trip and decided to leave the state. Here are some shots from our visit. Can you tell where we went? It's going to be our new home for the next year, and likely longer. We've crunched the numbers and by moving I can now bring in $0 each month and we're still fiscally in the same boat. With the added bonus that in a couple years we could buy a house there (as it is about half the cost of the Bay). So for the first time in my life I get to choose what I want to do (as opposed to making the best choice of what will pay the bills). This is a huge blessing and I'm so excited! I wish I could have done it here in California, as I'm a native and it will always be home in my heart. But I just can't pass up the chance to finally find a career that makes me happy. So once we move next month I'm going to put 100% of my efforts into Stick Chick Knits! I'll be designing and selling like a mad woman along with teaching at some of the LYSs. I'm also going to have a ton more time to spend with Zig, and that's a great thing. For Mother's Day Grant got me the best gift of all, a new website design! We spent Zig's entire nap brainstorming and playing with colors and designs. SCK has a new face, but you won't see it just yet because he's got to write the code to actually make the pretty pictures come to life. I'm going to use the same design for my patterns as well to tie it all together. I'm so excited! But the icing on my Mother's Day was our trip to Cold Stone. Zig sat in a normal chair (no booster seat) and shared an ice cream with us. He fed himself using his own spoon. I almost cried. I can't believe at 15 months he's sitting in a chair feeding himself. He ate pancakes with a fork Saturday morning. It goes so fast. Here's my new favorite photo of the little guy. We were visiting Tammy and her family and he fell in love with the princess chair. I died laughing when I saw this photo.

Baby Season

2008-04-29T18:23:43Z

This year I know 9 families that are having babies. 5 are here already and 4 more are due between May and Sept. The 3 boys that arrived already were all born this month. What on earth was in the water last year? At any rate, congrats to all my friends and their new little ones! Of course, as a good mom I can't write about babies and not post about my own. So here's a shot of Zig at the park last month. He's getting so big!

It's Alive!

2008-04-16T20:56:11Z

It's not pretty, it's not perfect and it is by no means complete, but a very limited version of Stick Chick Knits is now live! I got tired of waiting for tech support and did it myself. I'm still looking for a good graphic designer to help me work out branding, a logo and a color scheme, but hey, this is a start!

Messy Tuesday

2008-04-01T23:38:55Z

My intent for today's post was to flash my yarn stash, however, since I spent the weekend sick with a sick toddler, no yarn was pulled out for photographing. So instead I've decided to join Messy Tuesday (inspired by Mel). Actually showing off a mess at the house takes planning, so today I'll instead show off the mess that is my desk at work. Behold the glorious piles! As a little digression, I give you Zig at Easter. The look pretty much says it all. 'You seriously think I'm going to wear these things?' Lastly, a shot of him at the doctor's office waiting for his appointment. He's doing the sign for more there (well, his version of it anyway). Basically saying more grham crackers please Mom. Turns out he's got a sinus infection and I've got the flu. Which I find interesting since we've got the same symptoms. Ah well, I'm not a doctor, so what do I know?

The Meme At Last

2008-03-26T19:55:57Z

Jen tagged me a while ago, but I ran off on vacation before I could post. Now that I'm back (and a single mom for a while, G is in India) I decided it was time to dive in. Here are the rules: 1) Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog. 2) Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird. 3) Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs. 4) Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. So, 7 random facts: 1) I've hiked on a glacier. 2) I have an irrational fear of sharks. It's never stopped me from spending time in the ocean though. 3) I met my husband when I was only 18. I look back now and that just seems way too young, but I wouldn't trade him in for anything. 4) I love corn dogs. I know, they're terrible for you, and there are so many other wonderful foods out there, but there's just something about a good corn dog. 5) I love buying cute shoes but hate to wear them. 6) I hate broccoli. Truly, deeply loathe the stuff. 7) I love to travel. Half the time it doesn't matter where to, I just love seeing new places and trying new foods. Now the hard part, time to tag folks, so here goes: 1) Sara 2) Jen 3) Spinnity 4) Jeni 5) Mel 6) Jo 7) Holly Have fun!

Toodles

2008-03-14T21:03:22Z

Well I've been tagged by Jen, but I'm off on vacation for a week, so my response will have to wait!

Again, Really?!

2008-02-29T04:37:28Z

Well kids, I'm back in scenic Mexico. Yep, the company decided I needed to head back out here for the same unresolved issue. Whee! On the bright side I'm racking up miles and getting lots of knitting done. Last week I made my second pair of Violetas, which I gave away to Wendee, and this week I'm wrapping up my third and last pair. Turns out you can make two full pair and one slightly shorter pair out of one skein of the Hazel Knits Artisan Sock yarn. Which is good when everyone seems to want a pair. This pair is going to my cowoker, who was supposed to get the second pair. Then I'm off the hook and done knitting these things. I brought my fair isle scarf with me for a change of pace on the flight home. That's my next hurdle I think. It was supposed to be done back in November. I'm glad scarves don't go out of style, as at this rate my pal will be having to save hers for next winter. After that it's back to my designs. HSD is in the home stretch (as it has been for months) and I've got a new lacy cardigan on the needles that I'm toying with. We'll see how they turn out.

A Great Ending to an Awful Week

2008-02-25T23:40:22Z

Last week just plain sucked. Between work, illness, deadlines and a vacationing day care provider I was at my wits end. But then Stitches rolled around and made it all better. The show was amazing as always. I sadly missed my first class, but made it to my other two. The color class was good, the finishing class was great. I've never made such a pretty neckline! I'm utterly psyched to drag out my orange sweater and finish it once and for all. I stuck to my personal goals for my shopping this year - only spend birthday money and only buy things you can't get locally. Now technically two of my skeins were from stores here in the Bay, but they aren't stores I regularly visit, so I thought that made it ok. I'll post pics of the yarny goodness later. The best part of the whole weekend however was the yarn party. I got teary eyed when Erin handed me my name tag and it proudly said - Designer. I had a blast helping around the Nest and chatting with Wendee (Hazel Knits herself) while we tried to send skeins of her lovely sock yarn home with others. Amazingly only one skein (of the most glorious red) hopped into my tote. I was so happy listening to people talk about my pattern and actually want to buy copies of it. Wendee liked it so much she wanted to steal the store sample, so I gave her the extra pair I made in exchange for a new colorway. She's going to be playing with my favorite colors and we'll see what comes out. Even if it just winds up being one lone rogue skein I'll still be happy. And the icing on the cake is that I'm talking to a couple other folks about widening the distribution of my pattern; though the Nest will still be the only Bay area store. In a fit of motivation after all the fun I came home and loaded Violeta into Rav. Then Grant and I spent a good part of Sunday working on my online store. At this point I'm definitely running in the red, but I just don't care! This makes me happy and that's worth more than money.