Socktoberfest 2006 update

Yep - that's right dear reader(s?). I still haven't finished the friggin' socks yet. Hope does spring eternal here in the House of Wool because I have started the toe decreases on the first of the pair and am working on the second repeat of the leg of the second sock.

Koigu - still loving the purply goodness, fading from pale lavendar/lilac to a deep midnight that is nearly black.

While I still feel like complete crap, the return of the sun seems to have made a difference in at least my attitude towards life. I can honestly say that there is no way on this earth (or any other planet, for that matter) that I would follow my darling husband to Portland or Seattle should his residency take him there. Thankfully, he is aware of this condition to our continuation of the marriage agreement and has opted to not even apply to the programs in the Pacific Northwest.

Smart man.

It was so nice this evening that we went outside for a bit and I worked on the garden, clearing away the last of the dead stuff from last year. I was elated to see that not only did the tulips bloom today but that there are a ton of daffodils coming up.

This will be our third summer in this house (we rent the lower flat) and for the last two, the daffs were just a huge, overgrown, sickly clump about 18" wide. All of the crowns were exposed and the blossoms were pitiful. During the fall, I dug all of them up and divided them. I must have planted three or four dozen bulb or bulb clusters in addition to giving away half of a paper grocery bag.


I can't wait to see how they look this year!

bagatelle

I have started to launch my new handbag business and I am so excited because I made a great sale this weekend. One of the local, funky, boutiques bought a total of six bags! Granted, it isn't a huge number, but it is a great needed influx of cash.

I have also started uploading photos to the new shop website.

In my effort to sound like a broken record, I have to admit that I haven't done much knitting that isn't related to what I can sell. The creative juices haven't really been flowing unfortunately, but hopefully, the knitting mojo is just on a short vacation, instead of a long term sabbatical. I've finished several more washcloths and three more hats.

A cruel joke

That's what this spring is, a cruel joke played by Mother Nature. Two weeks ago, it was 80 degrees. Today, we have wind chills in the teens. All of the tulips, daffodils and crocuses are up, but it's any one's guess if they will survive the week of temperatures hovering around the freezing point.

As today is Good Friday and it is a paid holiday (thank you corporate America), I have been enjoying myself tremendously. I got to sleep in and NO ONE crawled into bed with me to say how much he loves me. (I totally love snuggling with a sleepy preschooler, but not so much with one who wants to wake up) This means I actually got to SLEEP. Truly a wondrous concept.

Not only did I vacuum my carpets today, but steamed cleaned them as well. Yes, my parents are visiting tomorrow, how did you guess? I haven't gotten as much done on the tidying front as I would have hoped, but the dishes have been washed and the kitchen sink scrubbed. I need to do a once over in the bathroom, but that should be pretty easy, all things considered.

For me, the dining room is my nemesis. See, we use this not so much as a place to eat, but rather as a home office cum sewing room. The built in china cabinet is a great place for me to store assorted kitchen appliances. However, it is also a great place to dump crap.

And, you know how it is, once you decide to clean, it is really less about tidying and more about archeology. There is a sense of wonder and enlightenment when you unearth a long buried treasure. Like car keys.

I've gotten several more handbags put together and I am hoping that tomorrow afternoon I can make a trip to the store that is interested in them. Otherwise, I will be sending my fearless sales force out to do the dirty work next week.

Thanks for the compliments on the bags. They are fun to make and I really like finding funky fabrics to use. I was hoping to take pictures of them today, but it was freezing cold and the wind was blowing like crazy. This isn't a problem if you are photographing, say, rocks. But something that weighs less than a pound? Slight issues ensue.

Yep, I found it too

Yes, because I have to be like all the cool kids, check out this contest to win a dyson.

Sorry for the lame a$$ post, but I am sick and exhausted.

Who knew that sending hubby to California for 5 days and the kiddo to my parents would suck the will to live out of me. Ugh.

Bags

This is what I have been making lately.

The grey polka-dot has a dark grey satin lining and a magnetic snap closure. The brown polka-dot has a salmon colored gaberine lining with a pocket and magnetic closure.

There is a local store that wanted a few different designs and I am hoping to take these in next week for sale.

There are several other options for sale, but these are the only two that have half way decent photos. I need to clean them up in Photoshop on my work computer.

Soon, there will be a website up listing these for sale, but if you are interested in purchasing, please email me at sales at myhouseofwool dot com.

Yet another picture free post

Still not much is new on the knitting front. Mostly it is just washcloths and felted hats. But really, as drained as I am by work, I don't have the creative energy for much more. Soon I will have to drag out the yarn again for Sizzle. I am looking forward to making it, but finding the time to knit what I want is hard, harder than keeping a four year old quiet. Yup, that hard.

On the sewing front, we found a store that is willing to take 4 each of a couple of different bags, so I am burning the midnight oil trying to get them completed. The thought of making a couple of sales and recouping the burgeoning costs is beyond delightful!

I promise that I will take pictures of them once we get a few more nice days. I will then need to use the ol' work computer (which has Photoshop) to edit them. After that, it is the whole issue of getting the website up and running. I do have a tax ID number, but after much consideration, the name just isn't working for a handbag business. I am thinking that I will make is much simpler so that I can use it for either endeavor.

I'm tired just reading the to-do list. What I wouldn't give for a quick nap.

Yikes

I am constantly amazed at how busy life is. Apparently, I am either a slow learner or just plain stupid because I feel harried and hurried every day. At work and at home. And I just realized that I haven't posted in a month.

I swear I haven't fallen from the face of the earth, but am working diligently on a TON of projects. All fiber related, but very few involve knitting.

I know that I have mentioned the craft fair more often than is probably necessary, but I was moderately sucessful at it and will be displaying again in the fall. To that end, I have been working like crazy to create stuff that will sell. I know that the hats will do well and I have been picking up Patons Classic Wool on sale to make them.

But, I have also decided to do handbags. For a non-sewer, this is quite a challenge. Overall, I have been doing okay. I sold one to a friend at work and a shop in my hometown bought 3 of them. I have a couple more on consignment there and a shop in Milwaukee took two more on consigment as well.

If we ever have a nice weekend, I will take pictures and post them.