katkoe:

what I did Wednesday

2012-02-09T08:29:00.003-05:00

made stitch markers and partied it out with a shop full of knitters!

Decided to keep going on the milk free diet and to start using Lactaid (supplement that helps digest any stray lactose from food). Tummy is much happier as long as I don't accidentally forget that my favorite sushi roll has cream cheese in it, which surprise, surprise is made of milk *facepalm* also was unaware that McD's hashbrowns and French Fries have a milk in them... gah! Taking Lactaid should help avoid these miserable booboos in the future, hopefully. Have to say it's definitely a process that is going to take time to perfect.

well drat! / what I did Wednesday

2012-02-02T08:32:00.005-05:00

I ate soup! Exciting no?
What's in it:
Quinoa, dehydrated onions, chicken stock, dehydrated potato flakes and carrots (not shown of course). The potato flakes act as a great thickening agent. Everything was a dry good or canned good so it's a great anytime meal. For more variety you can add in a small can of chunked chicken and a can of mix veggie for more flavor.

On other related news: I started a milk free/near-soy-free diet on Tuesday. So far so good. Only trying it for a week or so to see if my tummy is happier. Favorite filler right now is chocolate almond milk, very tasty :) Blue corn chips help with the crunch cravings. I'm sure there is some soy residue in there some where but way less then in most foods on the market right now. Other than that it's a rice, beans and salsa kinda week with a good dose of lean meats to keep my energy up while making the switch.

happy crafting.

what I did Wednesday

2012-01-26T09:40:00.002-05:00

Mittens!

Special thanks to Ms. Linda for helping finish out the patterns so they are done! New patterns will be out in February, more details soon.

from the desk of... De-stress: The power of "Not my problem"

2012-01-23T20:14:00.004-05:00

Need to find some extra brain energy? Try the ‘not my problem’ method. I picked this lovely gem up while working for a local artist group a few years back. Guess the admin guy really knew how to delegate because this was his common answer and I have to say I can see why it works so well.

I began using it mentally at first as a self check. Quick example: Why again was I worrying if the kidlet could not find the toy he wanted. He had plenty of toys if the one in question was never found again.

It's kinda of blunt to think this way but the goal is to reduce the frustration all around for everyone involved. Kidlet has a habit of not putting his toys away and then freaking out when he can’t find them back again. By not buying into the hype of “Oh my gosh! Missing toy!” I am reducing the urge to frantically search for or fix issues which I really have no business trying to solve. I do communicate beyond "sorry, not my problem" by suggesting things he can do to resolve the issue himself. Yes, the kidlet gets disappointed but eventually he either find the item, usually in a very obvious place, or he would give up and play with something else.

It sounds harsh but after a while you have to cut back on what qualifies for panic mode and what doesn’t. In this situation I would have been the one actually looking while he aimlessly followed me through the house, which doesn't actually solve the root problem behind the missing toy. By me not going along with his fretting he has to learn to take better care of his things, become better at looking for lost things or do what he ended up doing anyways which was to go find something else to engage in. It frees up a lot of brain juice when you stop worrying about fixing everyone's problems.

... and since many adults do in fact act like children this method can easily be applied in the grown-up world as well ;)

from the desk of... what I did Wednesday

2012-01-19T08:54:00.004-05:00

planning!
lots of it!
okay!
I'll quit with the exclamation points, planning is not really that exciting...

Using some of the 'productivity flourishing' planners mentioned in my last post. Craft safe!

post 100! and useful tools for organizing

2012-01-17T00:09:00.004-05:00

Didn't realize it until I got ready to post this entry that my blog has hit 100 post! niffty!

The list of useful tools to organize your thoughts and projects.

Websites for organizing:

Productive Flourishing: Free, download-able, well thought-out calendars for freelancers and bloggers.

Evernote: Free note collecting tool, good for brain dumping as recommended in "Getting Things Done"

Just Bento: Free meal planners, works for more than Bento style lunches. I really like how the meals are planned based on food group.

Ravelry: For the fiber arts world this is a must have membership. Ravelry allows users to organize projects, patterns and stash with ease.

Google Reader: Part of Google+ this feature allows you to keep track of all the blogs you like to follow.

Outright.com: Provides resources for organizing your online business. Easy to understand interface and integration with etsy, paypal etc...

Audible.com: Audio book treasure trove. Don't have time to sit and read? Plug into audio books and have someone read to you.

Tactile Tools:
The older I get the more I realize how important having proper tools is. Surprisingly, good quality doesn't always mean super high prizes. Most of the time I find that spending less than 10 or 15% more for an item can equal far better usability. Example knit needles, yarn and pens. Buy things that you can feel the quality in when you pick them up (this theory works for cloths too). Tools that have a comfortable feel to them will be used more and for longer.

Graph paper note books: my brain works better when I use graph paper to organize my ideas. The half sheet size books seem to work best for me. I don't know if the extra vertical lines help me focus or what but I'm totally sold on using graph paper for everything but long tracts of writing.

More:
These are the sites we always suggest to folks who come into the shop looking to expand their skills but don't have time for a sit down class with us.

KnittingHelp.com: Free, well organized videos on how to knit. Includes both Continental and English styles of knitting.

Ravelry.com: Besides having an awesome organizational use this free website offers a whole community of crafter who are as varied as the locations they come from.

YouTube.com: Have a question on how to knit or crochet a stitch? Or even a random folk craft question? YouTube has tons of videos on about any topic.

happy crafting!

kat food or not

2012-01-12T10:45:00.005-05:00

well hi there.

amazing how owning your own business makes it more interesting when it comes to keeping a regular blog *oopsie* I've really missed writing about general non-related things so let's give this another whirl shall we?

I started this post to be about some of the new simple foods and such but I think my first post back should be more of a catch up.

Over the last year I've been working towards simplifying my life and at the same time living it more the way I want to. It takes a lot of time and effort to be who other people think you should be so at 30 I'm done with it. Take me as I am: a gauged-eared, low tech, fiber-arts chic who's trying to do too many things at once.

That said trying to live low tech in a high-tech world has been interesting and I haven't found a good balance for it yet. I want to blog about that and also some of the things I'm doing to simplify my life so when living-at-half-energy hits it is easier to bounce back from. Life is too short to be tired or stressed about little things all the time! I've made good strides and hope by blogging about what I've done it might help others live a simpler, less stressed life without having to go to extremes to get there.

chat with you soon!

June Classes: beginner's beginning classes

2011-06-02T14:02:00.000-04:00

from paperyarnwire.com post...

Well folks we're up and running! Our Open House was a fabulous success too! Thank you to everyone who drop by to say hello.

We are packed full of beginner level classes this month including:

Knit 101
Crochet 101
Tatting 101
Cross Stitch 101

All 101 level class are $20 each. The class fee includes instruction and supplies.

Miss Angela will be instructing a repeat session of her popular Double Knit Headband class in late June. This 301 class is a two session class spread out over three weeks. The $35 class fee includes 2 balls of Perfection worsted yarn. Student will need to bring one 16" circular or DPNs. Please call for addition details.

More About Our Class Structure:
Our 101 level classes are designed to provide instruction on the basics. For more experienced beginners look for the 102-201 level classes coming in July. The 102 and up classes will focus on completing projects while the 101 will mainly focus on techniques. The 300 level classes a designed for crafty folks who are very comfortable with the basics and know a few more advanced techniques.

Classes are also available by appointment. Stop in the shop for more details or give us a call.

Happy Crafting!
-kat

Big Sale!

2011-04-10T14:05:00.004-04:00

we've having a sale to help with the move to a real-life retail space. Please check out our etsy shop (paper and yarn) each day for new things and great savings!

*we'd love and appreciate your help in spreading the word about our sale too... :)

EPIC catch up

2011-03-20T19:46:00.004-04:00

for the most current info on what's happening at 'paper and yarn' please check out our facebook page or paperyarnwire.com

Well...

Disappearing for two months usually means one of two things: I'm sick or I'm really crazy busy.

This month it was both with yeah!happy results (minus the death-flu thing of course).

I figure photo evidence is the best way to recap:

(The USPS and UPS guys are probably cursing me right now... )

Nature Spun by Brown Sheep Co. arrived the same day 50-ish pounds of Art Supplies did... sorry UPS guy

Party:Before

Party:After

Kraemer Yarn Co. arriving.

I won a great book from Ida of http://www.knit-a-while.com/ fame it arrived the same day as a full size box of cereal... odd combo but at least I had snacks to go with my new knitting book lol.

paper and yarn stitch markers are now available at Loops in Tulsa, OK!

To Sara of sarapaper.com, thank you for the replacement pom-pom makers... I couldn't find mine (I think the studio move ate them) so she bought me a new set and ta-dah finally finished scarf from 2008 :-/

This is my new favorite hat, fits great and I can tip the side up to look all retro-glam. Knit from some 'paper and yarn' shift worsted weight SW yarn.

for the PCK sweater kal. Castle by Quince and Co. knit in Universal Classic Worsted Tweed

and lastly... we hit over 500 sales in February!!!

thank you :)

Etsy Shop Updates 2011

2011-01-26T21:33:00.006-05:00

Howdy Fiber folks,

Along with the new studio hullabaloo I've been updating our etsy shop with new Valentine's Day themed goodies and also a brand new color chart of available beads for customizing your stitch markers.

Some of the colors have been retired from our previous list, but we still managed to go from offering 20 color options to 25! (okay, maybe it was all the 'oh shiny' while shopping for other supplies... but I'm not saying anything...)

_______________________

Hope everyone is gearing up for our first Holiday Handmades Gift Bank© project. Fetching Mitts is a free pattern available through knitty.com. Please be sure to include HHGB2011 in you tags on Ravelry so we can sneak a peek.

Happy Crafting!

Holiday Handmades Gift Bank

2010-12-28T14:12:00.000-05:00

from paperyarnwire.com

open to everyone! (local and online)

Similar to a holiday savings account, paper and yarn is making it easier to get your holiday handmade gifts done in time for Christmas by spreading out the work through the year.

In our first installment we’ll make Fetching Mitts. The KAL(knit along) begins this February and the pattern is available as a free download from Knitty.com

This project is great for beginners and experience knitters.

Want to learn cables or how to use DPNs(double pointed needles)? Fetching Mitts are the perfect project for you!

A class will be available too, contact us for more details.

Join along and post a photo or two on our ravelry board … we’ll have several contest through out the year to help encourage a less stressful 2011 holiday season :)

new pattern available on ravelry

2010-12-13T13:26:00.000-05:00

The new PDF pattern of my Family of Sizes: Crochet House Slippers/Socks/Shoes is now available as a free download through Ravelry.com

Sizes include newborn, baby, toddler, kid, women and men sizes.

from paperyarnwire.com

2010-12-11T10:43:00.000-05:00

..."The studio is an official go now, we've got a fresh coat of paint and primer in the main work area and more updates planned for spring.

Not having everything 100% over the last month has made me reconsider opening the space but; like everything else with this company it has a way of organically forming itself into what is needed, not necessarily what I have originally planned for it.

I'll be adding updates to the site this week, for some reason the calendar is giving me fits but if you click on an event, the proper date and time will show up in the description.

Mid-January will mark the beginning of open studio. So far the tentative plan is each week on Thursday from 4-8pm. This will be a time to pop in to see what new stuff we have brewing, get advise/assistance on a current project or ideas for a new project.

more details soon. "...

It's that time of year again

2010-11-15T14:09:00.000-05:00

well, I made it 9 days into the daily blogging thing before crash, bang, boom!

It's funny because after waking to the realization on day 11 that I completely forgot to blog the night prior I didn't really sweat it to much as I though "no problem, I'll make it up during the day sometime". Ah, denial is a beautiful thing.

Six days later and here I am, cranking through my little guilt trip of a list, trying to catch back up. Again.

I'm actively talking myself out of over reacting and instead working out a set of steps to get caught back up without letting the crazy pity party get too out of hand. So far so good.

... and since a lovely friend reminded me that holiday is less than 6 weeks away, (I thought I'd pass that little freak out along to you) I've included a link to my Mini Frumpy Gramps Sweater Ornament as an encouragement/quickly stocking stuffer idea. Happy Knitting!

work requirments

2010-11-09T20:15:00.000-05:00

so one of the fun parts of my job now involves sniffing glue, well not intentionally sniffing glue but you know what I mean. The new jewelry line has been interesting to design and make. I'm finally getting professional displays and packaging which is helping move things forward too :)

Below are some of the pretties for the Holiday Show at ArtsPlace in St. Marys, Ohio. Rings are adjustable, nickle/lead free and priced $10 bucks or less.

designs copyrighted 2010. paperandyarn.com

the answer to all of life's little problems

2010-11-08T19:36:00.000-05:00

murphy laughed

2010-11-07T18:47:00.000-05:00

Mr. Murphy Law has paid me a visit this week. Decided to do the NaBloPoMo this month and magically I can barely function thanks to feeling under the weather alllllll weekend long.

Schools almost done for the year, so it's cram and then prep for the ArtsPlace Holiday Show in St. Marys, OH. I think some of my items may also end up at the main location in Portland, IN. I'll be sure to pass on the details once I know more.

to monday.

a day

2010-11-06T23:55:00.001-04:00

today was spent chillin' with family and going on a $5.06 shopping spree at a few local shops. Yep, just a pinch over five bucks. For that I was able to procure 3 bags of halloween sour apple cotton candy (holy cow it's so sour we coughed) and a bag of sixlets for $0.82 total. Then at the local toy shop I hit up the dollar toys for 2 Japanese dog erasers and 2 magic color pencils with lead that swirls between 4 different colors. These make great little gifts :)

Does 6 a.m. count as yesterday?

2010-11-06T06:03:00.001-04:00

slippage

2010-11-05T14:09:00.000-04:00

to quote my own products:

Hopefully tonight I'll be back on the blog wagon, last night I gave up and slept the evening away. Oops.

up and down

2010-11-03T19:49:00.000-04:00

well today has just been full of the crazy.

I'll start with the ugh and move my way up, since I hate ending on a pessimistic note (shocking, I know)

UGH:
Mom went into the hospital for pneumonia type issues.
-so far it's just for observation. poor thing looked horrible this morning when I stopped by so glad she is getting some added care.

This week is also chucked full of school deadlines to the point of almost being comical. Next week barely a thing, this week oh-heck-no :p

and of course the Good:
The long awaited Loaf Baby-Toddler Sock/Slipper Pattern is now available for purchase as a download on Ravelry.

and

Our Etsy Shop is just 11 away from 400 hundred sales in less than three years
(thank you to all our customers, your choice to spend those precious dollars in our store means a lot and we're so great-full.)

so now I best hop back off of here to accomplish something, have a good night folks.

studio post primer

2010-11-02T20:50:00.000-04:00

okay, I won't show photos of the splodey office but I will show a few of the new space.

Why yes, that is an avocado kitchen circa 1975. It's the Awesome!

thanks to hubs and FIL for priming the whole main section, walls and ceilings :) next up is a coat of probably light grass green or maybe a blue-gray paint on all the white walls, the paneling will stay natural... not sure about the color choices yet. The place looks so bright compared to the old faded/grayed walls and slightly yellow tinged ceiling. I'm trilled with the results so far.

well I feel sheepish

2010-11-01T20:41:00.001-04:00

wow. it's November, said more like it's N-o-v-e-m-b-e-rrrrr. *Gasp*

The good news: the little contest listed in my previous entry does, indeed, have a winner.

The bad news: my office exploded over the last month and I need to find said entry back before firing up the dye pots *blush* ... sorry, seriously, sorry.

In other office news, PnY will actually be getting a real studio space later this month or in December sometime... *fingers crossed* the space is huge, and located on the second floor above a two car garage. No plans for retail type hours yet but the location will be open during special events and by appointment.

more on that to come.
____________________

On a completely unrelated note; I'll be goal setting with the NaBloPoMo/National Blog Posting Month event that starts today through the end of the month. So this is day one, no fanfare but maybe tomorrow I'll have something non-rambling-ish to say.

Hurry, hurry!

2010-09-07T13:13:00.000-04:00

Today is the last day to postmark your hanks' for the coloring contest!

To enter: click on the 'hank the sheep' image below to download a .pdf copy of our beloved mascot. Then just print, color and mail the page back to us at the address provided in the .pdf file.

Entries must be post marked by September 7th, 2010 and received by September 14th, 2010. The more entries the bigger the prizes. Contest is open to folks in the United States, Canada, Australia and the UK.

Please be sure to include your name, address and email on your entry.

product highlight: the eyes have it for paper.yarn.wire

2010-08-24T12:43:00.000-04:00

A slight dip in the temperature has me longing for all the goof-ball-ness attached with the approaching Halloween. Granted paper.yarn.wire is usually a bit froo-froo but every once in awhile I need to get in touch with the ghoul in the girl as is evident with (my favorite) the eyeball bracelet shown below. I also make hand formed rings with the acrylic eye beads. The local farmers' market kids seem to really enjoy the rings, maybe it's just the wackiness of wearing something so morbid.

Perfect Halloween Attire

Fall being my favorite time of year, I can't wait to whip out all my orange and green goodies from the design desk. Just for the guys, some appropriated worded stitch markers to denote your favorite knit medium.

The orange beads are also available on our other products. Aside from Halloween items we're mostly just working on our inventory for the upcoming Pumpkinfest in New Bremen, Ohio which is September 25th this year. Only about a month away, that's frightening to think that August went so fast. Lots of awesome stealth stuff in the works to be debut at the festival so if you're local feel free to pop in and say hey.

hank the sheep coloring contest

2010-08-17T22:44:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the first annual "hank the sheep" Coloring Contest. Click on the hank image below to download a .pdf copy of our beloved mascot. To enter just print, color and mail the page back to us at the address provided in the .pdf file.

of course the fine print: paper and yarn is not responsible for any lost or miss addressed entries. we reserve the right to post a scan of the winners on our websites or the original in our shop. By submitting an entry you are guaranteeing that you are 18 years of age or older (or have parental permission to participate in our contest).

We will not place your personal contact information online only your first name or screen name if your artwork is chosen. Hank the Sheep artwork remains copyright protected to paperandyarn.com.

Entries must be post marked by September 7th, 2010 and received by September 14th, 2010. The more entries the bigger the prizes. Contest is open to folks in the United States, Canada, Australia and the UK.

Please be sure to include your name, address and email on your entry.

Mystery Meat Sock Club

2010-08-16T19:46:00.001-04:00

Mystery Meat Sock Clubs are once again available at paperandyarn.etsy.com (yippee! ).

Mystery Meat is a 3 month yarn club which features a different colorway and collection of goodies mailed each month to club subscribers. The best part about this club is you get to give your input on colors... no neon craziness or muted semi-solids unless that's exactly what you like :)

The $65.00 price tag includes shipping to the United States.

A one time shipping fee allows the club shipment to be mailed to Canada, the UK and Australia for interested folks outside the US.

Hurry sign up's close September 10th, 2010.

Yay!

2010-08-12T05:13:00.000-04:00

now I know what 5 a.m. looks like from the other side o_O

at least it was not all lost time... I guess?

Over at paperyarnwire.com there is a new printable coloring page of hank

and paperyarnwire.etsy.com has a new pretty:

(I swear my fingers are in fact not purple like the photo but you get the idea... )

New Shop

2010-07-14T20:14:00.000-04:00

Welcome back to the katkoe blog-o-sphere. I'm kinda continuing in redeveloping some of the public sites related to myself and online shops. A few weeks ago Paper and Yarn grew a new appendage in the form of the paper.yarn.wire shop.

The new shop features ready made gifts (most of which are one-offs). Hair pins, Filigree rings and earrings are currently posted with plans for a toddler/baby line of toys and some eco-friendly everyday practical items... apparently my little head can't have just one genre to work with and hence the new shop will hold all the non-knitting related goodies. Have no fear PnY will still be producing "knitting supplies for the less enthusiastic".

We've been blessed to have a few orders already so some of the items shown above might not be available.

craft safe folks.

of all things

2010-07-04T22:09:00.000-04:00

to break my blog silence on I figure this would be a good one... not my idea but that of the dear blogger Mr. Franklin. Thank you for removing the commercialized hoopla and delving into what today is really about.

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

- United States Declaration of Independence.

paper yarn wire knit

2010-04-23T22:44:00.000-04:00

So what does a gal do with over a month of blog silence? well...

a new site for paper and yarn is slowly growing over here as part of my take on the 10,000 hours project by MissV ... and in other, more local, news the F3 gals have a new front page and it's pretttttty.

Obviously I've had my face in front of the computer screen a little too much lately. Even with all the screen time I've managed to start complying goodies for the upcoming farmers market and knit for a few of the 6 or 7 babies soon to arrive to family and friends. This year is lining up to be another crazy one, hold on tight.

Baking of Bread

2010-03-19T11:55:00.001-04:00

For a gal who can char even ready-to-bake cookies, the idea of making bread from scratch was meet with much hesitation and finger crossing. Luckily, I found a site called Cooking Bread which offers tons of simple recipes that require minimal ingredients. Surprisingly enough I even found a recipe that only used items I had on hand (woohoo!).

Flour, lard (yeppers, in stock for tortilla and biscuit making), yeast, water, salt, butter, sugar and eggs. The instructions are straight forward, but I make extra copies so I can cross out each step as I go. This kinda helps the brain remember where it's been already. The site also offers pic-tutorial with some of the recipes.

Plus there is no soy in the Farmhous Bread if you use animal lard and butter vs. vegetable shortening and margarine, that means no nappy time for kat. Gluten-free recipes are also available on the Cooking Bread website.

Only change to the recipe I found was to divide the dough into 4 smaller loafs instead of two. The smaller loafs are easier to store/gift. Bake away!

Quarterly Update: knitterly intentions 2010

2010-03-15T11:13:00.000-04:00

To help keep myself on track/honest, here is an update of knitterly goals for the year.

Completed:
1 holiday gift from 2009
completed after holiday and delivered in late Jan. Pattern is Pretty Thing by yarn harlot. I love this pattern. It's very well written but I had to struggle to finish, guess lace knitting is not my thing.

1 hat for kat: oh lookie, yes, I actually finished an item for myself. The very cozy hat was much appreciated for all the cold weather and walks to campus from the parking lot. I'll be knitting this pattern for hubs hat too but will add about 1.5" to the length for a better fit.

Only two items check off the list so far, had a minor case of cast-on-itis so I'm way behind in the finished goods department :p

the rest of the Things to do and a few change-a-roos:
1 hat for chi:
was hoping for a trilobite hat but just wasn't feeling it so now I'm back to plain 6x2 ribbing a la' watchmen cap.

1 hat for boo:
Changed to one small Shalom.

1 vest for tre:
little bugger grew so it's time to rip out 6 inches of sweater vest and try again, maybe with different needles, acrylic and bamboo are not friends.

1 socks for chi:
these babies are over half finished, to the gusset on one and several inches into the other.

1 MIL cloggles:
poor yarn has been sitting in stash for almost two years :( needles are free again and yarn is balled so there is some hope to this being done by next winter... hopefully.

1 socks for kat:
not even close, these have been hibernating since last summer :p

5 random holiday gifts before December:
will probably be started in Nov. 2010 cause' that's how I roll, yo.

3 baby sweaters:
plus at least 2 more... geez, gals seriously?

1 Pretty Thing:
I think this project is getting removed from the list, more lace knitting isn't going to be happening.

1 grandpa socks:
yarn + pattern = lack of motivation

1 josh hat:
another last minute holiday rush is probably in this patterns future.

1 lapghan (knitted):
basket weave pattern started with double-held softy chunky on size 15's. A true test of will-power is going to be required to finally finish an afghan. Sock = doable, afghans = not so much :(

1 sedona socks:
thinking of switching to the Manhattan pattern for its no-brainer pattern and sweet texture.

1 aunt socks:
kill two birds with one stone? Manhattan's for auntie?

3 mini sweaters:
waiting for some good dk weight yarn to fall into my lap before starting these.

lots of little hearts:
slackerhood totally missed V-day so these are going off the list too.

several scarves:
one started, about half finished.

So what's on your needles?

Well Hello there March

2010-03-06T04:07:00.000-05:00

I think this year went from Jan. straight to March gah!

The first couple months of the year are always transitional months for me. It's kinda like the quiet before the storm, can feel it in my bones that all kinds of crazy are about to break loose... hank agrees but he's excited to go along for the ride.

(labels by Sara of sarapaper.com)

paper and yarn is gearing up for the Portland Indiana Fiberfest which is next week (Thursday - Saturday). We will be there on Friday with demos on paper making and spinning. PnY will also be heading up the inaugural year for Kid Classes. Classes include: Fiber dyeing, reclaimed accessories and cardboard loom weaving. Check the fiberfest website for more details.

A Free Pysanky Egg Class at St. Henry Library in St. Henry, OH will be March 24th. Arts Place Collective Center is handling registration. There will only be 10-ish spots available so if you're local and interested be sure to call 419.394.0707 or email me for details.

Speaking of Arts Place, I'm back with Arts in the Park this year. We have some fun family days planned for local farmers' markets in St. Marys (Ohio), Berne and Portland, Indiana. Dates will be scheduled through-out June and July. Check artsland.org in the next few weeks for additional details.

Schedule purging complete, I'm calling it a night/morning ;)

coming to a Ravelry page near you :)

2010-02-05T18:54:00.000-05:00

paper and yarn is now linkable on Ravelry! thank you to all our wonderful customers :)

Free Mini-Sweater Pattern - Frumpy Gramps Sweater

2010-01-30T19:11:00.000-05:00

New mini-sweater pattern now available on Ravelry!
Thank you to my test knitters for giving this one a go :)

Finished 'Mini Frumpy Gramps Sweater' shown was knit with sport weight yarn.
The sweater measures 3" tall and 4.5" from cuff to cuff.

sunshine and warmth and friendship

2010-01-23T18:57:00.000-05:00

sunshine and warmth, two things which are sorely lacking in OH right now. The weather was a bit warmer today, but it came with uninviting gray skies. So winter blah blah right now.

I think I'm just using the crap weather as my excuse for being unproductive. Having a major case of the brain fog probably isn't helping much either.

It has at least made life more entertaining. What's your name again, how do you spell the word "the", did I forget something, what was the password to an account I use everyday?

The good news is that since the hormones aren't going nuts-crazy as much the hazy-half asleep feelings have mostly gone but the fog still rears it's head now and then making it difficult to think in a solid fashion.

I'm plainly aware la cabeza isn't working properly or making all the connections that it should. I'm not drunk, high or concussioned. All of which would probably be way more fun. Instead it's kinda like watching a bad sitcom only you are both the the actor and the audience. Priceless.

So to my friends (hubs included) I just want to say you are the bested for helping me through this. You guys just kinda shrug it off and left me to my own devices. Always there to help out, pick up or remind. Which at the end of the day is just plain awesome. Thank you and hugs.

knitterly intentions 2010

2010-01-15T21:55:00.001-05:00

in list form, no particular order:

1 holiday gift from 2009
1 hat for chi
1 hat for kat
1 hat for boo
1 vest for tre
1 socks for chi
1 MIL cloggles
1 socks for kat (shocking, I know)
5 random holiday gifts before Dec. (probably fetching mitts, random hats, scarves and mini-sweaters)
3 baby sweaters (relatives have really been getting down to business lately)
1 Pretty Thing
1 grandpa socks
1 josh hat
1 lapghan (knitted)
1 sedona socks
1 aunt socks
3 mini sweaters
lots of little hearts
several scarves
and a partridge in a pear tree once I figure out how to knit the little bugger ;)

welcome to Ohio, have some black ice with a side of -5 degrees

2010-01-05T21:50:00.001-05:00

...and bring your skates, it just might be a faster way to travel.

Hell has apparently frozen over, at least in north-west Ohio. On my way to class today the roads were covered with black ice. The drive was rountinely interrupted by a dire need of window scrapping. I gave up after about 15 minutes of this crap. ugh.

So no class today and much rearranging of my schedule to avoid such a ginormous drive. Good news I guess is shorter blocks of classes spread out over M/W/F instead of T/Th.

Let the rat race begin.

lots of words in no particular order

2009-12-30T22:11:00.000-05:00

the winter weather has officially frozen my brain making it extremely difficult to get much verbiage out in an organized written fashion.

I feel a need to purge all the gunk out of my nugget onto the internets and share a few things I've been keeping low key over the last few months. (aplogizes now for sounding 'hey! look at me' )

School went pretty well last quarter though towards the end I felt dumb as rocks. October was the worst and a bit of a huge struggle as my fibro began expressing it's opinion on the whole back to school matter.

Mental clarity and stamina went out the window (both side effects of fibromyalgia ) enough that I actually called my physician for a consultation. Nothing life threatening, just life interference type things. More on this in a sec.

October/November played out a sad closure to part of my knit life. The first yarn store I ever visited, learned so much at announced it would shut it's door in November :(

November was all about the end of fall quarter and tons of working from the couch. My dr. and I meet up to compare options for improving my level of function and by turkey day decided on a minor surgery to hopefully relive some of my chronic (read: energy-sucking) pain.

Out-patient surgery was in mid-December and things went as well as planned. Health professionals were all super nice to me and accommodating whenever they could be. Family has continued to be a big help, especially my mum and wonderful hubby. Recovery is slow but consistent which is all I can ask for at this point in my life.

It's been a year. We've celebrated holidays, birthdays and wedding anniversaries. Struggled, succeed and held on for dear life. So I'll close out now and offer best wishes to everyone for a better year full of happiness, health and prosperity.

irony

2009-12-20T23:24:00.001-05:00

is how I'm going to define my new blog banner.

happy holidays everyone :)

bah hum bug Sale

2009-11-28T19:02:00.001-05:00

paper and yarn is having a $2.00 off yarn sale, some mystery rovings and tons of stitch markers are also available and ready to ship :) please have a quick glance. the shop will be going into vacation mode on the 13th of December.

Happy Shopping.

november?

2009-11-18T19:51:00.000-05:00

seriously?

It's finals week at casa de katkoe and I'm pretty sure this event has caused some kind of riff in the time space continuum. Twice already this week I've look at the clock only to see it be like 5 hours later than I thought it was.

Aside from the strange time travel issues, achy joints from the crazy Ohio weather (i.e. 70+ degrees in November!) and of course the fact that it IS finals week I'm managing pretty well, or at least enjoying the delusions of such.

Of course Thanksgiving is next week already with not a stitch of holiday knitting complete. Dear family ya'all are getting dollar tree mystery gifts this year I swear.

So wowzy. How's things on everyone else's side of the world?

Tea / vodka anyone?

Hank, on the other hand, is handling all the stresses quite well &
is helping stock the shop for the Bah Hum Bug Sale.
Such a swell guy/sheep isn't he?

cheating and happy halloween

2009-10-28T23:02:00.000-04:00

I've been cheating... a while back I created a new blog for all the kid themed paper crafts, it's called project nanny and will keep growing with seasonal and holiday related craft instructions geared towards kidlets.

I figured fall was the perfect time to open the shutters on this project. It's that time of year for lots of parties which means lots of decorating and busy-making needed for kids to do while parents are going nuts-crazy with everything else seaonally related. A plus is that pretty much everything I make can be made from scraps, random odd bits and dollar store finds.

I'm fast, cheap and easy apparently... at least when it comes to crafting.

The rest of these photos are crafts designed for a recent Library Kids' Craft Day. The library's funding has been cut very sharply recently causing craft activities to instantly disappear which is a shame. So of course "that one crafty/crazy chic" stepped in for some community service/craft projects which let kids get messy and create something with their own two hands.

Instructions for the other crafts will also soon be posted on project nanny so anyone can share some craft-ular type activities with their kiddos. Happy Holidays Folks :)

nifty-ness

2009-10-17T22:07:00.000-04:00

While out on coffee/tea break/antiquing with gal pal Sara of SaraPaper I found this clever little spoon. I guess it would be considered a true tea teaspoon. Works by filling one side of the spoon, then hinge the other side over to create a perfect metal tea bag. Very cool and one of those nifty things that just makes me smile, cause I'm apparently easily amused ;)

Also photoed is my new addiction, loose leaf tea. It really doesn't take too much more time to make an amazing cup of tea. Very much worth it actually. Now all I need to do is get a nice 4 cup ceramic tea pot for steeping instead of using over sized coffee mugs and other random glass containers to do my dirty work with.

The tea and tin above is LiberTeas Breakfast in Bed. Her Earl Grey Creme is also very smooth and delicious with no bitterness in the after-note.

thing-a-bobs

2009-10-11T00:19:00.001-04:00

Hola amigos finally a little proof in photos of a few new projects... numero uno

Poofy MooMoo Cap: Little girl hat that has a bit of slouch, a simple circles and hearts pattern from the brim up. Made with worsted wt. washable wool blend.

Carry Me Tabi Socks: Split-toe tabi style socks from the toe up with easy left/right foot conversion.
Washable wool blend worsted wt.

oh and I've been taking Spanish class, not that that obvious or anything hasta luego.

a brief rest... and then anarchy

2009-09-09T22:16:00.000-04:00

hi there internet folks, it's been super quiet around here for awhile. most of this is due to said owner of blog going back to college and all the fun micro-managing that type of 8 year gap resolution involves.

things are still brewing, as always, still brewing. frankly I'm spinning my wheels a little bit trying to make seven different directions of thought flow smoothly into one working system in my life... this of course will never go as planned (thank you mr. murphy) which of course is just life, plain, simple, life.

don't get me wrong. at near 30 it may just be a mini-mid-life crisis wrapping around me. since at this age, I still feel like a child... really odd considering all the age-challenged mini-adults asking me for guidance in this world.

I'm in a phase where more things make me cry, laugh and ponder (is this what adulthood is about, seriously?) or maybe it is just autumn in the air. my favorite time of year has been know to heighten the senses... at least for me.

strange is life, especially when you pay attention to it.

so I'll quit getting all philosophical (it is kinda boring after all) and hop back onto my other projects for now with the knowledge that someday soon I'll have some more good things to share, show or chat about.

from the desk of katkoe - figuring out the brand

2009-08-18T12:45:00.001-04:00

paper and yarn has been around for over a year now (woohoo!) and being a graphic design by trade I figured it was time to freshen up the brand a bit. Below are thumbnails of the Ravelry ads I've begun using recently. I'm still hashing out which direction to go with but I thought I'd share a little glimmer into the design process. (my favorite is the last one, though I'm not sure it does much for the company *lol*)

Have a great week.

(first out of the gate)

(a few minor tweaks makes a big difference in visual appeal)

(round two: larger photos, more subject specific)

(round two: with a more popular colorway and smoother skein)

(round three: more ad location specific)

(round two.five: ah, simplicity)

from the desk of katkoe - pictorial evidence

2009-08-06T15:11:00.000-04:00

here's one to avoid the month-long no-blog rule.

Some of the blog avoidance has been because of works in progress: See Trilobite hat and 2nd/3rd pair of KAL socks (July Nanners/August Seaweed Socks). It's hard to sit in front of the computer when there are a bazillion odd items calling from the knit bag.

I hate to mention it too, but this is not all the projects I'm working on. Aside from the photos there is a new Trilobite hat in pink being requested, another hat pattern of my own making in the works and one lonely little sweater vest that someone keeps asking me about (sorry fridgey).

Nothing like knitter's guilt to keep the ball rolling.

Of course there is always the ironic kind of blog avoidance. This month brought to you by my mishappened adventures with motivation, nature and yard work.

Sadly not pictured is the pile of paperwork, arm band and medications acquired from doctor's office because apparently one little patch of poison whatever-it-is is not only resistant to the above but can spread all over the fricken place in just a week.

and this is why I stay inside and hide...

Fortunately things are now improving so it's back to main-stream-non-itchy-everywhere avoidance.

from the desk of katkoe - sleep, what that?

2009-07-17T00:42:00.000-04:00

okay after several weeks worth of 5:30 am wake up calls I'm pretty much worthless in the brain functionality department. fear not, knitting and crafting has occurred, even new stuff has been skimming across my desk.

if a good nights' sleep ever comes my way again I'll be sure to include the highlights ;) along with photos, misplaced demos and general shop whoring.

sweet dreams.

from the desk of katkoe - time suck can be so pretty

2009-07-01T01:48:00.001-04:00

Those sweet little wooden tooth picks look so cute and innocent, then wham, you're staying up for hours knitting around and around trying to finish just one more row. Because after all you're soooo close to finished, so close... sweater denial is so much easier to ignore.

Well, I actually finished these beauties at midnight-ish today/yesterday EST (reference: loud a** jammies). The big push to finish came from a Ravelry Group Sock-a-Long featuring the goodness that is WendyKnits.net

The blue socks above where knit using the Lacy Ribs pattern from Wendy's book "Socks from the Toe Up" using some of my hand dyed stash in "Icy".

Love, love, love this pattern for it's 4 row repeat and extra stretchiness. Be sure to get gauge or just go down a foot size, depending on your tolerance for adventure, to compensate for the extra give.

other than that I'm boring, working and doing okay *fingers crossed*

from the desk of katkoe - life in picture form

2009-06-15T05:18:00.000-04:00

1. Arts in the Parks: a yearly summer event organized by Arts Place for kidlets. I've been helping out with this as a summer intern. Tons of unique classes for first graders on up.

2. Vintage Hand Spun: from the estate of a very prolific spinner. Going through the bags of hand spun was like going through an old photo album. Each skein listed the farm or venue the wool was from and dated (1979-1983). Very cool.

The natural white skeins were sourced from Ewetopia in Troy, OH and will be available for purchase there very soon.

3. Diet Change can be Funny: I switched to a gluten-free diet a few weeks ago. This is how my double hamburger/only pickle/no bun came to me, 10 points for presentation :)

some form of growth - dinner

2009-06-15T04:46:00.000-04:00

Our garden exploded this week. The cucumbers and squash are now well over knee high and starting to flower. The beans and peas are also starting to flower and will be producing soon-ish we hope and the onion sets are suddenly ginormous.

The start of this week also marked the first harvest from the garden, 4 radish and a quart of bib lettuce :)
Since then 8 more radish and a huge bag of greens have been pulled.

Somehow we ended up with one dark purple radish out of the lot of red ones. Never seen a radish this color. I used it when I made butter fried radishes for a late night snack and it tasted the same but dyed the paper plate indigo blue. Mmm blue food.

Forgot my camera last trip to the garden and will hopefully have some photos late this week of the middle garden bed. The bed must have gotten sprinkled with franken-food since each week it seems to pretty much double in size, basically taking over the other two beds which seem to be struggling right now.

Odd but very cool to watch.

a quick garden update - some form of growth

2009-05-21T14:36:00.000-04:00

Beans, peas, radishes, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumbers, onions and marigolds all reside nicely in my new square foot style garden.

This guy Mel (http://www.squarefootgardening.com/) really knows how to make your soil and space work to your advantage.

A note about the half empty end box. These photos are a couple of weeks old and we are now using the third box to transplant the spares that grew from the extra seeds we planted (waste not want not).

A special thank you too for my wonderful husband and Father in Law for building the boxes for me. We ended up with three 4 foot x 4 foot boxes (photo above) constructed using 2x6's.

The coolest part about the square foot garden is everything gets it's own square (pumpkins/watermelons need 2 a piece) and neat little rows of veggies (1-16 plants all neatly lined up in a grid). Easy peasy to weed and water.

My favorite seeds to plant have been the radishes for the quick pop of greenery (seriously like 3 days and sprouts appeared ). The beans have been great for their crazy growth rate once they finally shove through the top soil, our indoor bean has sprouted 3 bean pods already.

Aren't they just the cutest?

from the desk of katkoe - ninja style

2009-05-17T12:57:00.001-04:00

Sorry to be all 'ninja style' lately. I've been hiding out doing some web work for a great group of local gals who run a webzine called The Family Fun Finder.

The new site will update weekly with news, special deals and blogs geared towards local family fun. (Local for us is North-West Ohio.) The site is still in incubation mode but is so close to finished it's crazy (doing happy dance). The blogs and forums are a great read even if you're not local to Ohio so I'll be sure to give more links once we have the polish applied to the site :)

Busy busy has also involved a lot of production mode for PnY. The local Farmers' Market starts May 30th so I've been squeezing in craft time whenever I can to have a nice stash of goodies to take with me.

Love this time of year though it's crazy crazy for me too. Ah, summer.

from the desk of katkoe - my life according to sheep

2009-05-07T22:44:00.001-04:00

Hank the Confuzzled Sheep came to visit my craft room today. He's cute and kinda gullible, just the way I like um'. He says 'bah' btw which I think is "hello" in sheepenese.

Hank even made an appearance on some of the new hand stitched 'mini knitters notes' graph paper notebooks. He's hand drawn in black permanent marker so each notebook is a unique.

Hank also seems to prefer the au-natural look of craft card stock to the fancy stationary grade stuff, though I'm kinda up in the air as to which I like better.

(The bull's eye notebooks where created by stitching fused target bags to some pretty red card stock. )

Most of my new mini notebooks have semi-transparent graph paper in them. I reclaimed this stuff from an office sale a few years back and love the smooth texture of it. The sizes are small-ish so they fit better into project bags, about 4-5" wide by 5-6" tall.

Other than that I'm kinda boring, have a great night everyone :)

from the desk of katkoe / Squeaking one in

2009-04-30T23:52:00.001-04:00

Squeaking one in before the end of April, wow the end of April already.

There were several deadlines today both actual and motivational and luckly all were meet :)

Donations to Arts Place, Random Mailing Wednesday surprises, sock club, PnY orders and the long awaited HAP afghan all went for delivery today *woot* Granted part of me is still very paranoid that I missed something or that May will simply devour me with other craziness, though things *should* be okay.

A quick garden update too. I started another round of plants on the 28th, went to check on the little guys today and happy to report the radishes and lettuce are already showing tiny green leaves. *fingers crossed* these sproutlings will survive being transplanted into bigger accommodations similar to photo two. Those are green and sweet red pepper, cauliflower in the purple bin and some poor little tomato plants still hanging on.

We are planning on creating a square foot garden this year. The lumber is bought and assembled with only some more soil being needed in order to get things rolling, well and a moderately dry day here and there... but who's complaining.

Anywho, it's a smidge past midnight and I'm off to sleep. Happy trails everyone.

Getting Crafty With It - Drop Spindle and Knit Needles from Flag Post

2009-04-28T09:27:00.000-04:00

Cheap Spinners Kits

One quick trip to the dollar store or some stash/trash diving and you'll have yourself a spinners kit in just a few simple steps. (ie. drop spindle and knitting needles)

Supplies:

11 mm reclaimed flag pole or dowel rod
(one of those personal sized flags, available during 4th of July)
Old CD (use two for heavier spindle)
Band Aid
Eye Hook/Cup Hook
(available in $1 Picture Hanging Kit from Dollar Store, lots of goodies in this kit)
Cutting Implement
Sand Paper or Nail File
Rubber Grommet (available at hardware or on Etsy)
Pencil Sharpener
Screwdriver or Pliers for opening Hook a bit

Knit Needle Sections

Begin by visually dividing/marking the stick for two knit needles with the remaining finial end (decorative end) left to be the bottom of your drop spindle.

In my example I ended up with two 7" Knit Needles.

Next carefully cut the pieces apart and sand the ends. ** Be sure to leave the finial attached.

Using one of the knit needle sized pieces, place an end of the dowel rod into the pencil sharpener and firmly hold it in place while sharpening the stick until your knit needle is to the desired point.

Repeat with second stick, being sure to check frequently that the needles are still the same size and end up the same sharpness.

Smooth out any rough spots with sandpaper or nail file.

Drop Spindle Section

There are tons of tutorials all over the Internet on the finer points of spindle making, I'll basically include just a brief detail with some of the MacGyvering that I used to make this thing work with what I had on hand.

Begin by sanding smooth the cut end of your flag stick.

Screw in the eye hook on this end and slightly expand the loop of the eye hook so that fiber will squeeze through.

Next wrap a band aid around the part where your CD will rest. This will help snug up the fit if it's a little sloppy.

Slip rubber grommet over the band aid area.

Now slip the CD to the grommet and gently line up the inner grove of the grommet with the inside hole of the CD. Snap into place. Repeat this step if using two CD's.

That's it. Pretty quick hey?

a case of time travel - from the desk of katkoe

2009-04-19T21:39:00.000-04:00

So I complained a week or so ago about time just flying on by... well since about February of this year it really seems to have picked up the pace and is increasing the acceleration spreed with each passing month.

It's almost May! Like where did April go? Seriously, who punched my ticket to ride on the time machine without telling me?

Just nuts, crazy. That is all.

{random oogling photo}

getting all crafty with it / planning for farmers market/

2009-04-15T21:46:00.000-04:00

Wow it's been a busy week in the crafty department at PnY.

With the Farmer's market season fast approaching I'm starting to explore my dumpster chic style of life.

It's also the 'year of the simplify' so anything not moving is getting turned into something cute and/or useful before it leaves the house. (See Above).

That is indeed a leftover Raisin Bread plastic bag reliving life in a fused plastic envelope/wallet form. Part of a Home and Garden Party bag provided the clear overlay plastic and the super thick bread bag was 'sandwiched' inside and stitched up. The best part is that the bag still smells like cinnamon mmmmm :)

Another simplify rule is evolving too: all personal stash spinning fiber must fit within one of my IKEA cd/office organizer boxes. This means before more fiber comes into the stash the other stuff must make it's way into yarn.

The results so far are turning out pretty awesome. Picture above is 2.8 ounces of Ashland Bay Colonial Red Blended Roving in a heavy worsted to super bulky two ply (69-ish yards) So smooshy soft too :)

and besides... that rule only applies to the personal stash... it does not include the PnY goodies that are springing out of the dye pot.

100% Merino Wool Rovings in Mother of Pearl Swirl and Wowzy

because fiber is love :D

holy crap tomorrow is wednesday or from the desk of katkoe

2009-04-14T19:59:00.001-04:00

Make List/Make it Stop

Seriously, tomorrow is already another Wednesday (yes, I just double check the calendar to be sure). I've scribble out a few list to try and calm my nerves to no avail. Nothing life shattering, more like bunches of little things all coming to a head at once. wooh boy. By the end of the week the pipeline will be cleaned out; the rest of the tax paperwork mailed, faces painted and friends geekified. life is good and scary and odd all in one.

random mailing wednesdays - the frooest of them all or monday/thursday

2009-04-09T21:14:00.000-04:00

This week's package motivation:
a "happy birthday to ewe" gift

The package, and it's 72 layers of pink, went out on Monday and will hopefully hit her door in the next day or so.

Included inside the cupcakes and stripes are 4 tiny pink butterfly markers modified to be used by a crocheter. The other photo of markers is to show the cuteness that are the pink beads.

random wednesday what?
because I'm a bit odd and fun loving each Wednesday-ish will feature a random package, sent to a random person, for a random reason. The little lovely will contain random stuffs sometimes small some times big... usually odd.

from the desk of katkoe: if at first...

2009-04-07T23:36:00.000-04:00

Howdy again. I've come to the realization that my weeks begin on Tuesdays. The weekends are just so busy they fly right by with this/that errand so by Monday I'm pooped. Which leaves Tuesday for getting things caught up.

The wheel has seen some love this week with my first 3 ply coming off the bobbin a few days ago.

Included in the 2 oz.ish skein are chocolate brown corriedale, some of the first hand dyed roving I ever bought (a beautiful pastel merino roving from http://sweetpeafibers.etsy.com) and mercerized cotton mint green crochet thread.

The end result was slightly over plyed (my main spinning issue) so I misted the skein with water and hung it to dry with the spray bottle as a weight. This seems to have fixed it a bit and take some of the back spin out of the skein too. Really happy with the finished skein regardless.

----------

The "year of the simplify" is also rolling right along. As the PnY shop shows I've been raiding my vintage ribbon/notions stash lately. There are new gift tags with ribbons/fabric scraps accents and stitch markers made using cute acrylic buttons.

All the scrap raiding has also helped the long planned knitting accessories line for PnY to start cracking through it's egg.

My first attempt at a dpn case ended up with a few misplaced seams and some wayward sheering of the edging to fix said seams. The little guinea pig dpn roll has a dumpster chic look with a bit of wonky construction to it. I do really like the 3 slot size it's nice and small (perfect for throwing in the sock bag) with cute character provided by the faded pink flannel and natural hued board cloth.

The second dpn roll fared much better. It has 5 pockets and is also sized to be used with 5"-ish midsize dpn's. The flannel and board cloth are also reclaimed scrap. I used pretty vintage bias ribbon as a sewn in place roll tie making for one very charming package.

Tomorrow will be more planning and sewing and possibly some chicken knitting ... we'll have to wait and see :)

some form of growth - how to grow things on top of your refrigerator instead of in it...

2009-04-06T22:10:00.000-04:00

My little seedlets began their journey parked on top of the fridge where it is nice and cozy. Then after few day where migrated to atop a wooden chair located in front of the big bay window. A little warm air provided by a small electric heater and bam!

baby tomato plants... aren't they just the cutest :)

The whole clan checks up on them everyday (sometimes several times a day) just to see what new sprouts have emerged. Some of the plants have already hit 2" tall.

It's so nutty to watch the toilet paper rolls going from just dirt to being filled with little plants in a matter of a day or two. Sometimes the little buggers have popped up with a few minutes of checking on there siblings. Their so tiny and delicate that it's hard to believe we may actually get full size tomatoes out of them. Isn't nature just the coolest?

Here's hoping to a bountiful and fun gardening season.

the word '-ish'

2009-03-31T08:36:00.000-04:00

ish is my favorite word/word additive.

It can solve a lot of life's little problems like being late "I said 5pm-ish... that's 5 o'clock give or take 15 minutes... right?"

Or as a very effect descriptionary word for things that are almost but not quite what they should be... as in "it's kinda sock-ish" or "I'm working on a sweater-ish type swatch" and "did you see so&so's new baby? Yea, man, it was kinda cute... ish"

When tactful words are needed to let a friend/family member down easy ish is the perfect stand in "of course the meal was great honey, the char marks give it a very welldone-ish appeal".

Photo Examples:

Sock-ish:

sometimes things start out very "sock-ish" and turn into socks (see left photo), and sometimes things that start out sock-ish in nature (right photo) turn out to be chickens...

ish is also great for describing yarn and/or it's degree of resemblance to yarn: "your handspun is improving, it's getting very yarn-ish"

have a great 'ish' word of your own?

some form of growth - a very uncycle garden adventure part 1

2009-03-28T17:04:00.000-04:00

De-clutter House. Start Garden.

This year is definitely the "year of the simplify". Luckily the above goals work well together and save some cash along the way.

To start I combined a lovely order of heirloom seeds from RareSeeds.com + metric ton/a bunch of used toilet paper rolls and this fabulous tutorial to equal the start of something yummy *fingers crossed*.

and presto chango...

Okay so this also involved some leftover potting soil from last year, a used strawberry container, 2 old milk jug bottoms (2-3" of bottom, save tops for mini green house thing-a-majigs) and the cut longways bottom of a soda pop 12 pack.

Some of the left over milk jug bits are also making appearances as seed markers.

My hordings of 46 oz. juicey-juice and 32 oz. Gatorade containers provided a great stash of transplant containers for when the little seedlings out grow their current home and the cut off container tops will go the way of the milk jug bits to be used as mini greenhouse thing-a-majigs if everything goes outside.

ah organization, it's a beautiful thing :)

oops and crap x 10

2009-03-23T14:05:00.001-04:00

no, I have not fallen off the planet in another vain attempt at avoiding responsibility.
my computer crashed, like not fixable, explodie hard-drive crash. *ugh* so I've been sharing a computer for the last week-ish, relegated to normal 'business' type hours instead of late night oddness. no worries, think I needed a set schedule anyways.

the crash also zapped my pretty new blog graphics, which for some reason has kinda zapped my writing motivation *no idea* I've got tons of photos, comments and some fun stuff to make... well if only my brain could focus for more than say 30 seconds we might get somewhere... aside from all the excuses I'm doing okay.

more to follow...

week 2: wednesday's random mailing

2009-03-11T20:46:00.000-04:00

This week's package motivation: a super sweet gal and great customer of PnY, the fluffy stuff just kinda called out to be sent her way.

off to the east coast

a wee .6 ounce of hand dyed corrididale cross wool roving in smokey blues and purples

a novel idea

2009-03-05T20:05:00.000-05:00

because I'm a bit odd and fun loving.

each Wednesday-ish will feature a random package, sent to a random person, for a random reason (catch all that?). It will contain random spur of the moment type stuffs, sometimes small some times big... usually goofy, cause I'm like that yo...

feedback and/or photos from said random mailings will also pop up on here :) sort of a random act of kindness warped by my fragile little head.

This week's package motivation:
a ravelry message board reference to bacon and customer service (how cool is that?) followed by some research for an address and voila.

on their way to California

want to join the fun? shoot me a plurk, etsy convo or rav message :)

Strawberry Crochet Pattern

2009-03-03T12:05:00.000-05:00

Be-ewe-tifully simply strawberry to crochet

by katkoe

Starring:

Bits of worsted or sports weight yarn, Shiny the blue crochet hook (size H) and my thumb

Berry Bottom:

Chain 3, join to form ring.

Row 1:

Chain 2 (counts as first dc) crochet into ring 13 dc and join to first dc
Count 7 stitches from beginning and place marker on stitch.
Pull starting yarn to tighten the ring that was just created.

Row 2:
Chain 2 (counts as first dc), dc then make 2 dc into the next stitch.

*dc, dc, make 2 dc in stitch* repeat ** to 7th stitch in row.
At the 7th stitch crochet 7th and 8th stitch together with single crochet.
*dc, dc, make 2 dc in stitch* repeat ** until 2 stitches remain.

single crochet last two stitches together.

join row.

Row 3:
chain 2 (counts as first dc) dc next two stitches together into one stitch.

repeat once.
*dc, dc, dc next two stitches together* until three stitches remains.

dc, dc next two stitches together and join.

Row 4:
Chain 2, *join next two stitches together with one dc* repeat to end and join.

Row 5:

Chain1, Crocheting into only the outer post of each stitch, place each remaining stitch onto hook and join all together into one single crochet stitch.

Knot off to finish berry bottom, cut yarn off leaving a 6-8" tail.

Stem Top:

Wrap green yarn around three fingers 7 times to create yarn bundle.

Cut yarn and wind the tale around the center of yarn bundle.

Sometimes this is easier if the bundle is held taunt between two fingers.

Lightly knot the tale after several wraps.

Now place a firmer knot over the first knot to secure string into loops.

Run Crochet hook from top to bottom of berry part.
Grab ending yarn tale and pull tale through the top of the berry.

Tie yarn tale from stem yarn bundle to the berry yarn tale.

Insert the crochet hook from the bottom through the top of the berry *see below for stuffing option*

Grab yarn tales and pull the combined stem and berry yarn ends back through into the center.

*optional step: use hook to draw quarter size ball of yellow roving through to the center of the berry. Berry will hold shape with or without fluff in the middle*

Copyright 2009 katkoe. Free to copy and distribute for personal and non-profit purposes only. Pattern not for resale. Special rights given to Ewetopia.net for resale of finished items made from this pattern.

pretties ... that is all

2009-02-18T21:03:00.001-05:00

hi folks

2009-02-04T10:38:00.000-05:00

guess what? I have continued to be boring... great read isn't it lol

The basket case/make me a sweedr hat is finished. Niffty little deal this hat is. It was worked using only one 16" size 11 circ needle, no dpns and easy peasy pattern. I'll have the pattern up for the next post or so... need to check gauge and how I finished the top since it's been awhile and I can't remember for sure. Sized to fit large 2 year old.

also finished the self striping vest made using Encore Colorspun Chunky (love this stuff!)

and surprise, surprise ... I've cast on another vest. This one is to replace one he's already out grown. Seriously, sweater vest with no shirt and belly hanging out... that is my motivation for finishing this one quickly.

soylent green is people...

2009-01-27T18:03:00.000-05:00

I've been taking 20 mg Cymbalta the last few weeks, not sure if the new shiny green pills are helping with the joint pain or just making me too sleepy/ugh to notice a change... so until something more earth shattering comes along, I decided that this will be the last post about my general energy levels... seems to be that each update is followed by a crash or energy spurt and by now it's probably pretty obvious the kind of day I'm having by the amount of post being made to my blog.

besides I've got more goodies coming along which are far more interesting :)

and the wheel goes a'round...

2009-01-11T21:58:00.000-05:00

and a'round...
guess what? my brain/body kicked back into function mode today :P

A load of dishes are done, the recycle closet is organized, the moo-moo vest of doom is bound off and I cast on a new stash buster type hat (all in one day, I know... it cracks me up too) :

sorry for the dark photo, it's 48 stitches with 4x4 rib using softee chunkee yarn by bernat on giantic, well big needles (size 13 hiya bamboo 16" circ.)

The project above is still in development, my goal is to have all my stash going to designated projects by March, if it hasn't found a home/project by then, then I need to get it one fast (read: send to new home).

Life for me is running a pretty consistently inconsistent pattern (surprise!):
brain/body go boom, brain go okay, brain/body fumbles around, brain go boom, brain/body go okay... think I'm still missing something in the uptake?
as long as I end up on okay though, I will be okay.

I'm working on setting up more consistent organizational habits using my okay days to the fullest. Also been doing some hardcore thinking about the things I can still do consistently when it gets rough for me and what I can get rid of to limit energy/stress needed to maintain said things.

Frustration is still a huge hurdle for me, but at least I know it's there. That's a good thing right?

self realization - the photo tour

2009-01-07T10:43:00.000-05:00

Late last week I had an awesome amount of energy/determination, accomplished a crap-ton of work around the house, went grocery shopping, lugged lots of bags from the car, heck even the kitchen sink was empty (should have taken a photo, that doesn't happen often around here).

(empty boxes, and 3 bags to good will)

(this was a lonely UFO tube of a kidlet vest, now has been split, a v neck and upper back added)

Then of course, god laughed, after a lovely productivity high wham! *cartoon thunder cloud above head* The dishes are back to stacking up, I've been just plain achy, etc...

I'm frustrated but coping okay thanks to the long, drawn-out realization that this is just how things are going to function. Super Kat will now be rolling along at half speed, doing what I can and saying chuck it to the rest.

and when in doubt... chocolate no bake cookies fix everyyyyy thing :)

post holiday

2008-12-29T15:57:00.000-05:00

still here... still surrounded by mounds of crazy... it's okay and getting more manageable *knock on wood* :)

Getting some energy back in small spurts so I've been avoiding the computer and focusing on reorganizing my house/office/life. Progress is being made, hardwood flooring that's been missing for a few months is visible again...

figure cleaning is the best exercise/stress reducer for now... cause it's the Midwest and 60 degrees one day, 28 degrees the next :P

so other than that I'm still kinda freaked about our job situations and the economy in general, though at this point it would be odd not to be freaking out about the economy, will just remain cautious and hope for a much better new year *fingers crossed*.

stay safe and drink one for me.
-kat

holding pattern

2008-12-14T14:39:00.000-05:00

Been laying low the last few weeks trying to take gauge of all the changes that are happening.

My pharmacist started treating me for fibromyalgia last week as a more aggressive plan of action and I did get a second opinion (my regular MD) to agree with the diagnosis today, a bit of relief.

also scary... it's a double edged sword I'm not sure how to take right now, so it can just stay an after thought in the back of my head for a few more days while I line up my new medicine regiment.

In the mist of all the craziness that has been my life for the last few months, my knitting style has navigated to more complex smaller needle type stuff. The first pair of socks started yesterday using 2 circs (size 6's), turkish cast on and this pattern It's a guy pattern, my feet are wide and average so I'll just shorten the foot to fit my size 7.5 girl feet.

I'll try to get some progress shots once the foot area is farther along.

other than that, happy holidays and be careful in the cold crappiness of winter.

and with every crash

2008-12-03T22:25:00.000-05:00

comes a reprieve...
the rollercoster ride is on it's way back up after another horrible fall down hill.

I think the last few times have been mainly caused by the inadequate progesterone levels in my system... sorry if it's TMI. f'in hormones, some of it is recovery, the doctors said it's going to suck for the next 3-6 months while my body tries to figure out what the hell just happened to it.

the rest is just good ol' train wreck katkoe.

the crashes suck and then I'm fine within a day or so, how stupid is that.

still waiting on my joints to get back in the game, just glad all the mood swings have subsided.

and now some happier stuff, well deserving reader...

The knit needles are being worked well and some flirting has been going on with the occasional crochet hook...

The above is the start of an elongated stitch scarf (it has doubled in size thus far) from the great pattern by Turvids using Bernat's BlackLites in Purple Power. Black Lites is a super bulky and super soft yarn making this project super easy and enjoyable.

The other scarf on my needles is a multi-directional scarf by Karen Baumer using double stranded worsted weight yarn that I hand-dyed (harlot colorway). This is my holy-crap I'm late scarf for my dear friend sara's birthday (read: october 24th) can't believe I'm such a slacker.

The poor scarf is about half way done. It's 100% super wash wool (with 50% merino wool) and the pattern of the scarf works perfect with this colorway. Link to the text version of pattern.

oh and I finished a pair of adult size slippers (another can't believe I'm this late pattern).

other than that I'm really kinda boring.

angry

2008-12-02T16:35:00.000-05:00

angry and frustrated at how my life is playing out right now. guess the hammer finally dropped... rant to follow(sorry)... conveniently provided in list form.

- being on an indeterminate amount of medical leave and hoping they'll even (or be able to) take my non-productive ass back if and when the time comes.
- hubby possibly losing his job due to cut backs.
- the economy in general.
- holiday marketing.
- the fact that my stupid body won't let me function properly for more than a few days(such a tease).
- the idea in my head that everything will get better eventually.
- finding out we were pregnant (with no maternity coverage)
- scrambling around to find an OB then losing the baby less than a week after we found out.
- the pending medical bill
- finding out cousin-in laws are expecting a baby the same month we were due.
- husband getting fixed (this was planned before we found out about the baby).
- being a responsible adult
- knowing that life isn't fair
- my body taking forever and a day to recover from the surgery.
- being a hormonal mess at random times of the month (ie. today).
- the stress all the above are putting on my support system. everyone is burned out.
- that my head knows to look at the better side of things, that all this will pass, but head refuses to believe it.

it just all pisses me off right now so I thought I'd share :P feel free to add a random rant ... this post is the perfect dumping ground for negativity.

tomorrow will be better, fingers crossed...

recalibration continued

2008-11-24T14:42:00.000-05:00

it's been a ride... wth... I'd like to get off this tram now :P

on leave from work as of last tuesday. need to get my productivity/life back in a more consistent manner before attempting full time employment again. the timing isn't too swell but there really wasn't any other option that I'd want to take.

so kinda pitiful right now, okay some days, super tired and achy the next. don't worry too much about me though, I have some great doctors and supportive family in my corner. it's just going to take time to build back up from zero.

in decent spirits... resting and catching up on the home front this past week.

less depressing, new stuff coming soon ;)

a holiday greeting

2008-11-18T21:16:00.001-05:00

from my etsy shop...

seriously though, I'm in a decent mood. I just enjoy partaking in the anti-holiday spirit... makes me all warm and fuzzy inside :)

contemplating...

2008-11-16T15:27:00.000-05:00

a new knitting project or maybe picking up the crochet shoe-a-baloo adventure again...feels urge to keep hands busy, maybe some home improvement projects like painting too ... thinks this is a weird side effect of recuperation?

just realized she is blogging in plurkese :P

feeling better

2008-10-30T23:09:00.000-04:00

thank you to everyone for the kind words and messages, they are truly appreciated.

I'm feeling better, getting some strength back and pretty much painfree (knock on wood). My first day back to work was yesterday. made it about five hours which I think is pretty dang good considering.

Today was good too, came home around 4:15 bummed around with the midgets for dinner, then took dd trick-o'-treating after her dance class. we hit about 8 houses, it felt good to get out for a nice slow recuperative walk, the weather was crisp and sunny, nice fall day.

My mom has been helping out tons around the house and with the kids, seriously don't know how the woman does it but very grateful none the less.

I did pick up the knit needles again on Sunday. Currently working on a multi-directional scarf made from my hand-dyed worsted yarn (harlot colorway). Once it's finished I'll try to get some photos up.

Other than that I'm kinda boring :)

it makes sense now...

2008-10-25T06:45:00.000-04:00

I figured I should blog since I've been missing in action for awhile now. As mentioned earlier I've been fighting an insane amount of fatigue lately.

Well the last month or so has been bad enough to prevent me from crafting daily and generally taking care of my family duties.

There have been good weeks here and there so I could catch up on some stuff. My life was basically spinning out of control though and apparently needed to be recalibrated before I completely crashed or lost my job from being too tired to do things properly/on time.

That recalibration came on Thursday and also kinda explains why I've felt miserable the month or so.

We found out we were pregnant last Saturday, I was relieved a little because it explained the extreme fatigue and the more intense cramping I'd been having on my left side. (I was thinking this was just my progesterone replacement therapy going wrong).

Monday morning started off fine, my stress levels where down, my brain and body where on the upswing from crashing the weeks prior. Tuesday went okay, a little more achy and worn out and but still clear brain and more productive than I'd been in awhile.

By Wednesday I started to really slow down, brain still clear, but plain worn out hoping Friday would come soon. I figured the stress was finally kicking in or I'd been doing to much. Went to Friend's house for a few hours and just talked, this eased my nerves about having another high risk pregnancy, but left me exhausted.

By Thursday morning I just wanted to stay home, just didn't feel good. Went into work late, spent a good chunk of the morning making personal calls to line up an OB or set up other things with hubby. Started fidgeting in my chair about 10 with a sore tailbone and left side cramping, by noon I figured it was time to go to the ER because again things didn't feel right.

From there I can save the long details from the last few days as the ending is kinda inevitable. We lost the baby. It was an ectopic pregnancy from the get go, which is why I had been not feeling right about the pregnancy and feeling so crumby.

I had the most wonderful doctors and nurses caring for me, they kept us informed, layed out all the options, and took special care to make sure I was as comfortable as I could be. They made a worst case scenario so much easier to deal with and I will always be grateful for that.

My husband, family and friends have been amazing and comforting. The whole experience is still surreal and not completely sunken in yet but I will be okay.

We weren't planning for this baby, it surprised us and then surprised us again but I am grateful things turned out as well as they could have and also so thankful for the support from everyone around me.

-kat

Hi

2008-08-27T20:32:00.000-04:00

Some photos (finally) of what I've been up to this month. It's been super busy in the shop which is awesome! Thank you, everyone for your continued patronage :)

and... more sock yarn blanks arrived today *woot*

take cares -kat

picture this... and this ... and this and oh oh check this out (sorry)

2008-08-04T21:38:00.000-04:00

erm... as it were and all...

here are some recent shots of things I've been up to *insert dancing nanner here*

**** side note... blogger's busted up and jankie... please check my flickr and soon I'll have the photos up ... grr ***

New Hooking For Charity Post!

2008-07-15T21:52:00.000-04:00

yep, Hooking for Chairty has a new post :)

err...

2008-07-14T21:41:00.000-04:00

shoe mojo went bye bye again :P sweater mojo on the other hand :D

about 5 inches in to my little man's v neck sweater vest made with Bernet Softee Chunky in sunny yellow(body), pumpkin orange (upper chest) and either red, purple or green for the ribbing.

Photos soon.

little fat heads shrug is to the arms so it's getting closer too :D

umm...

2008-06-30T19:37:00.000-04:00

the little sweater... not so much... it got frogged :P
Need to try again soon once I finish up the fathead shrug and moomoo is getting a pink shrug using the same base pattern but upped a notch or two for a 4T size.

http://theshizknit.com awesome, awesome patterns and most of them are freebies!

and

shoes!

yep, first pair of finished shoes in like forever and getting the mojo for more! woohoo :D

feeling a little better

2008-06-25T22:50:00.000-04:00

today started out crazy rough... migraine and joints acting up :P

think I'm getting my second wind now though.

my gran taught me to purl today in the continental style... finally had enough people show me that it clicked lol. although I think me and gran share a common brain, so she was the perfect person to teach me. :)

also picked up kfb (knit front back) with help from knittinghelp.com... that site rocks!

why all the learning?
well finally decide to work on projects larger than shoes (check out my ravelry page for more info) two little people projects one for moo (tiny top down #608 by cabin fever) and one for pipe (confection shrug by theshizknit.com), thanks to finding a yarn shop (ewetopia in troy, ohio - www.ewetopia.net) with super friendly gals at the helm I've gained a bit of confidence, knowledge, yarn and desire for projects that take longer to make.

hopefully, I'll be back in the swing soon on hooking too. I've been passing out lots of info on HAP (pattern and contact sheet provided to me by Val Quinn of Dayton, OH). Back to attending knit nights at ewetopia and acquiring yarn for the hooking 50/50 project.

long post... night all

holy cow

2008-06-06T22:50:00.001-04:00

hi there... almost one month later... ugh

final shoe count for may was 8!
8 pairs of lonely little shoes :P and so far none for June... oops ;)

Good news is I think we (new doctor and I) have figured out what might be causing some of this gosh awful fatigue and joint stiffness (crossing fingers now that I can) surprising it's not depression that has put me in a funk (duh!) it's low progesterone... all my other blood work came back normal and this one was the only dinger.

Let's just say that I'm very relived to be deemed at least one step closer to 'not crazy' vs 'crazy' ;)

With that in mind fiber has kinda taken a back burner for me lately. The great news is along with the medical clarity arriving is an order of superwash sock yarn and worsted wt. wool are on the way! So I'll be posting new dye jobs (hopefully) over the next few weeks. Got some great color combos brewing in my head so we'll see.

The hooking blog (and flickr thing) will be back up and current in a few weeks too :) the last few bouts of fatigue really messed up my ordering/blogging schedule. I'm in process now of placing orders/whoring self for new etsy dyers' goodies. Pancake and Lulu's yarn is next on docket (at least that's the general plan for now).

As always donations and discounts are always welcome and very much appreciated for the hooking for charity blog feature '50 pairs from 50 shops'. Toodles for now :)

eek

2008-05-08T23:19:00.000-04:00

1 pair of shoes this month so far... it's almost mid-may...eek

okay, so some of this shoe dilemma is probably me having a quarter-life type crisis with my birthday fast approaching :P I'll be 27 on the 13th ... eek

now I official feel old.

the good news is I've finally figured out the proper acid ratio for my yarn dyeing (crossing fingers) so shop updates should move faster once I'm able to order my next batch of sock yarn :D

it's so nice to have one wash and hang before sale ready... ahh hopefully this will cut down on the BB's (b#%^ard balls)

and I'll leave with the comment... I really need to get my old self off to bed

50 pairs :D

2008-04-29T23:00:00.000-04:00

another end of the month count up :)

I'm working on pair ten for the month of April. It's been a crazy sicky filled month and I'm glad it's almost over woohoo! and impressed I even was able to produce the number of shoes I have...

and of course may eve is tomorrow ;)

so pair number 10 is brought to you courteous of Jan and Tilly the llama of Moon Light Llamas

Jan hand spun and dyed this weeks feature ... be sure to check out the hooking blog for more details... full posting on Wednesday 4/30/2008.

ha' 12:01 :P

2008-04-01T00:06:00.000-04:00

just squeaked in pair 15 for the month of march woot!

got it finished just before 12:01 (I know 12:00:01 is technically april one, but I'm rounding up a smidge).

so woot la doo.

Rita of Yarn Hollow donated this weeks gallon bag over full of yarn for hooking and hers was lucky pair 15 :D

onward to April and 159 more shoes to go...*eek*

I just did the math for fun ... that's 17.66666666667 pairs a month til the end of the year

*double eek*

yet somehow still doable... well maybe, we'll see, keep fingers crossed.

damn my hands

2008-03-28T07:10:00.000-04:00

I'm apparently bitchy this week. Not that anyone has told be specifically, I just feel that way. My hands are not cooperating, they get a numby feeling... both of them. Yesterday was spent using a mouse left handily... actually made my brain hurt to do that... odd.

My joints just hurt, don't worry next week I'll be fine again. f...n' immune system.

Work was going well. It's been launch-a-palooza at work for the past few weeks except this week. Some days it just doesn't pay to climb outta bed... ugh.

Switching between design and programming (both of which I love to do) sometimes just doesn't work out. And when it doesn't work out ... it really doesn't work out and I fall flat on my face. Example: the last few months. Just not in the groove I suppose.

My design skills seem to be taking a hiatus for some reason (my guess is stress) and programing is going okay until I sit at my screen all day trying to figure out the evils of drupal. (nice menus and IE just not happening, the menu loads already in the down position wtf?).

It's really is exhausting basically not moving all day long. And since it's Ohio and crappy out, its been too cold and icky to go outside. Whatever happened to spring?

So enough of the complaining. The good new is I got to crochet last night :D and finished a pair and a half of shoes :D

Hands and joints be damned, I'm still going to crochet :P

where kat go.

2008-03-18T22:33:00.000-04:00

kat go boom. it's been super busy at work, home and every where else the last few weeks. which is good I suppose. I'm back on the shoe wagon again :D with this weeks massive installment planned.

Thank you to all my great etsy gals for donating the piles of yarn I've used to create the 50/50 shoes and for supporting my crazy endeavors to being with ;)

So far the hooking list is up to 13! with over 3/4 of the yarn being graciously donated by fellow etsians. Please check out the hooking blog for more details on these shops.

Please let me know of purchases made from the featured shops after they where featured on the blog so I can enter your names into a special drawing (again, more details on the hooking blog).

On a yarn diet? Leaving a comment on the hooking blog also provides a way of entering the contest. (purchases will count as two entries). Have a great night.

a little math

2008-03-03T20:48:00.001-05:00

yeah! I made my goal of 10 pairs for the month of feb. and march is looking good so far with 4 pairs already completed!

a tally so far

Jan. 16
Feb. 10
Mar. 4

to meet my goal of 200 pairs of shoes this year I'd better get cracking as I'll need way more than 10 pairs a month, each month, to hit my goal. Check out the new shoe counter on the side bar.

onward shoes... new hooking update (with contest) tonight :)

hand painted yarny yarn

2008-02-26T20:18:00.000-05:00

my first foray into yarn dyeing went surprisingly well with no visible wayward dye on me :D

I've already balled up and started working with the first batch of shoe sized skeins. I made these trial sized little guys just the right size for my baby shoes so the yarn wouldn't go to waste.

I'm running a low on shoe production lately, hoping to create at least 10 pairs this month (2 more to go... ugh) last month I finished 16. Crossing my fingers that March is way more productive :)

rearranging the furniture

2008-02-23T20:38:00.000-05:00

lots of yarn came in today for me from three seperate places woohoo!

here are the etsy's... omgosh the yarn is just beautiful :)

From craftygirl83
Cirque Barnum - a bright pile of dk weight superwash (check out hooking in a few weeks to see in shoes form... plus a special sale discount to her shop )

From mymommadethis
Gelateria - great worsted weight - will also be featured on hookingforcharity.com in the following weeks. Sharon sent me a lovely skein which then made the urge to buy the other one to hard to hold back... hence the purchase above and the two other skeins too (oops) such an enabler ;)
Thank you btw :)

Rugged - just as pictured. warm browns, greys and fleck of natural creamy tans - perfect scraf skein

Blue Cheer: holy cow is this yarn just absolutly the best. the color is a rich jewel tone of cyan blue... amazing! and way prettier in person than the picture shows.

The third box was yarn blanks... we'll see how that goes ;)