Got yarn?

Exciting things happening this month in tiny rambler land! I re-opened my online yarn shop and am so excited about it. I missed it so very much! I’m dyeing on a pre-order basis so it takes a little while for your yarn to get to you but I think it’s worth it. 🙂 If you know anyone who knits or crochets and is looking for yarn, send them my way! My shop will be full of different colors and bases every month!

If you’re on ravelry, come and join the group! There’s also a facebook page where I put sneak peeks and ramble on about what’s happening in the dye pots.

Here’s what else is on my mind this weekend…

• I want a new pair of boots but the weather hasn’t cooled off enough for me to justify buying them.
• On that note, I’m so very thankful for September’s weather.
• Eva wants to be a zombie bride for Halloween. I’m not sure how I’m supposed to feel about that.
• I can’t stop eating greek yogurt with granola and a little drizzle of honey. It’s delicious.

Happy weekend to you!

August review (in pictures)

A pretty good month, I’d say. Can’t wait to see what September has in store for us!

California love

Every summer we make a trip to California to see family and visit with good friends. After seven years, we definitely consider Washington home but California still holds so many memories and people we love, it’s hard not to wish it were closer than 12 hours away so we could visit more often.  It was a short trip this year but we made the most of it for sure. Spending time with family and friends in the heat (hooray constant sun and 95+ degree weather) is something we look forward to so very much.

The drive down was pretty uneventful. Rest stops in the middle of nowhere, mandatory Dutch Bros stop, and finally sunshine when we were almost out of Oregon. My kids are exceptional travelers and I’m so very grateful for that. It’s a long day but once we’re there, knowing that we won’t have to do it again for a couple of weeks makes it a little more palatable.

We took a trip to Sacramento to visit the California State Railroad Museum and it was so much fun. They had a passenger car, dining car, and a mail car that you could walk through and explore. Walking through the passenger car, seeing how tiny and cramped everything was, I really felt for those passengers with claustrophobia; it was so cramped!

The rest of the week was spent relaxing. Lots of time in the pool, hanging out at the lake, trips to see cousins, more time in the pool, learning new crafty skills, a shopping trip thrown in for good measure.

Then we headed to Tahoe City for more fun!

We’ve been home less than a month and are already looking forward to next year’s trip so much. I love that my kids know that summer includes this trip and look forward to it every year. I know there will come a time when they’d rather stay in Washington to hang out with their friends instead of sitting in the car with me for 12 hours so I’m going to try and remember to cherish these summers. The heat, the water, the laughter, the time, spent with people who are so very important to us. See you in around 325 days, California.

Hey little man with the football in your hand…

… you gotta run it, you gotta run it.

I’m officially a cheer mom. 🙂

FO: Rayures

This is turning into quite the knitting blog. Finishing projects usually takes much longer so I’m just going to roll with it.

Here’s rayures. A seriously fun, cute, addictive knit. I’m already making another with plans for a third. And I’m not usually a pattern repeater. But this one is so easy and the finished cowl is so lovely, I just can’t help myself.

Eva and I were getting pretty tired of shooting in the woods so we decided to drive down to the lake for beach shots. We weren’t disappointed by the fantastic backdrop Lake Washington has to offer. It was a gorgeous summer night.

Eva was plenty distracted by the water but turned on that charm we all know and love soon after we arrived. If I haven’t said it a million times already, I just love this girl.

This cowl was made for my good friend Jenn as a birthday present. Jenn and I went to middle school together waaaay back in the day in North Carolina! Thanks to facebook, we reconnected a year or so ago and she’s become one of my favorite people. She runs a fantastic photography business, Peanut Butter and Jenny, so if you’re in her area and need super cute pictures, check her out!

I made this with almost all madelinetosh TML with some sweet fiber sweet merino light and plucky single ply mixed in. I may have a slight obsession with buying single skeins and then hoarding them for the perfect project. Since stripes have always kind of been my thing, projects like these are perfect for said skeins. I’ll admit, it was hard sending this off to live with Jenn. It’s absolutely in the top three favorite things I’ve made since I happened upon this knitting bug. But sending my knitted goods out into the wild, to live with other people I know appreciate them, it’s one of the best feelings I know.

{this moment}

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you’re inspired to do the same, visit SouleMama and leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments for all to find and see.

{this moment}

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you’re inspired to do the same, visit SouleMama and leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments for all to find and see.

FO: Color Affection

Another project finished! I finished this back in May but just now got around to blocking it. This project was fun but seriously time consuming for me. I am easily distracted and those l o n g garter rows toward the end just dragged on and on. The pattern itself is awesome and I love how it turned out. I left out one repeat of the three color sequence and shortened the border and it still turned out giant. It’s crescent shaped so it stays on really well and I can wrap it twice around me. Super cozy!

This is going to be used a lot come fall. Oh, who am I kidding? It’s been 55* here for a week and I’ve worn it twice already. Hopefully summer shows up soon and I can put away the knitted things for a month or two. 😉

Pattern: Color Affection Yarn: Madelinetosh TML in Cousteau, Charcoal, Olivia

{this moment}

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you’re inspired to do the same, visit SouleMama and leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments for all to find and see.

 

FO: Henslowe

I finally finished a project! It’s been ages since I’ve had enough knitting mojo to actually finish something! The mojo hasn’t returned 100% but it’s coming back slowly, which is just fine with me. Now that I’m no longer dyeing yarn, I have more time to enjoy what I’m working on and not worry about a deadline.

I’ve had my eye on this pattern since it was released as a club only pattern last year. When Beth told me it was available to the public in December, I bought it right away. Like 90% of the patterns I buy, I didn’t cast on right away. I tend to BUY ALL THE PATTERNS! and then wait months or sometimes years to make them. I buy them thinking that I’ll make them within a month of purchase but with so many patterns coming out all the time, there are always new patterns popping to the top of the queue.

This pattern was quick. I finished it in a week! Seriously unheard of lately. The suspended bind-off is genius, the lace portion is easily memorized and the knitted on edging goes quickly even though there are 100+ repeats.

The yarn is wonderful, too! This was my first Sweet Fiber purchase and I’ve been back to her store twice since this arrived. Her colors are gorgeous! Super saturated and semi-solid, my favorite kind of yarn.

Eva agreed to model for me only if I did her hair and makeup! A little liploss and some sparkly eyeshadow and she turned into my model extraordinaire. She’s such a ham! I could take pictures of her all day though so you’ll never hear me complain. And if a little sparkle is all it takes for her to turn on the charm, well, that’s pretty cheap in my book.