Happy Holidays!!!!!!

Am off to San Diego tomorrow for my cousins wedding. Wish I were staying at home with my husband Christmas day, but the things we do for family.....lol

I hope each and everyone of you have a wonderfully fabulous Christmas full of holiday cheer and love. Here is a cute video that a dear friend sent me the other day...............

Merry Christmas!!!! And have a great rest of the year ;)

What have I been up to..

With the holiday season fast approaching, things are hectic around here as always.  Thankfully, today was Granny's last Doctor's appointment until the new year.  Lately we have been very fortunate that the Dr's Offices seem to have a pretty darn good flow and the wait time has been minimal.  Today was a 2 hour wait.....  Not at all fun.....

I did get all of my Christmas shopping done today with Granny in tow.  And picked up the over priced, ill-fitted dress I will be wearing in my cousins wedding on the 27th (yes, she picked 2 days after x-mas and it's across country, so I'll not even go there..grrr).  Dropped off two packages at the post office.  Took Granny for lunch and to the book store.

Went to pick up Ace from the Vet's home (my bro & sis in law).  He was snip-snipped today (neutered) and also had his front claws laser-ed out.  I know, it sounds cruel, but you haven't had the joy of an air-born kitten take a flying leap latching on with very sharp claws to the center of your back either.  Nor have you had the joy of seeing the scratch marks upon, my legs, arms, hands, chest and luckily not face.  Really it's not that he is mean or wild.  In fact, he is very sweet and affectionate, unless he is in play mode.  And lets face it, that is all the time.  When we are sitting in the basement, the ground floor sounds like the Kentucky Derby is being run or a herd of elephants is running through.  He has become rather fond of climbing the curtains and pushing as many buttons as he can.

Bill and I went for sushi.  This of course reminds me that we have left overs in the fridge!  .....yum.....late night snack..........  Then we went and picked out a guitar chair for his x-mas pressie and an inexpensive (costs less than the damn dress) elliptical machine for my x-mas pressie.  It took stopping at 3 different places to find one that was reasonably priced.

Below is the swatch I knit up for a pair of gloves I have been commissioned to knit in handspun superwash merino, silk, firestar and glitz.  Have to say the colors and blend is to die for.  Was done last night.  Really, there is only so much I can do in one day....lol

Above, is another project I have been working on. This was commissioned to be spun and made into a hat and matching accessory. I am almost done with the hat which, will then be embellished. I will make sure to post a pic after it is done;)

Now, I'm tired and ready to dig into a fresh pint of lager before I nod off to the land of the zzzz's.  Oh, and if you are wondering, Bill has been told not to wake me in the morning upon penalty of death!

............................

Tomorrow, Granny needs to go to the grocery and restock her daily pill organizer for this coming week.  I need to get her an extra pill organizer that Dad can swap out for the one I fill up tomorrow because I will be in San Diego for my cousins wedding that day.   I'm going to try(key word) and run the sweeper and do a bit of dusting at Granny's.  AFter that....  I am going home and going back to bed for the rest of the week end......................  

I did a Bad, Bad, thing......

Some people are addicted to drugs, some people are addicted to booze, and the select few like me are addicted to all things fiber.....................

I was trying so hard to be good. I searched and searched and finally found an intact minors head for some one who was interested in buying a local antique walking wheel. I thought I might be able to find another one some where so I just started browsing online through all things spinning.

Then, I saw it! All pretty and blue and cute. But the price just was not quite right, so I sent an offer. Imagine my shock when the offer was accepted!

My new wheel sporting a bit of blue on it's way to me all the way from Lithuania.

Shhhhhssss...........

Don't tell Bill!

The wheel is home finally.....

After waiting a while for Don to finish the wheel, it is finally home! Yippee!!!! Apparently the wheel went on a wee little trip to the East Coast where Don used it to demonstrate making historically accurate parts. I had told him to take his time...lol


The wheel set up in the living room:) Yes, that's an old trundle bed in the living room. It makes for a great couch or resting place if you want to read a book or fall asleep watching telly...lol


New leg. Lighter one on left

Hand made brads to replace old worn ones.
Leather straps to hold the spindle on the maiden-head.
Wooden washer to save original wood from damage by original nut and bolt.

Steel Pin and upcycled laminate to hold wheel in place.

Freaky Kitty

Ace has done this for some time, I just did not want to post about it with out proof....lol

These are pictures of Ace doing the dirty deed. Ok, so it's really not dirty, but it sure is odd. Guess we can chalk this up to how we found the little guy and his bro on the side of the road.  You know, that little lost kitty syndrome that we are attributing to his being dumped at too young an age in the middle of no where............


Ace Sucking his toe...


Proof that, YES, he does suck his toe.

Oh, he also had his first sip of beer tonight and erm...... Well, he doesn't really like it at all....hahahaha See, it goes like this. I was watching 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'. Next thing I know, I look up and there he is licking the rim of my brewskie! He stepped back, shook his head, went in for a second round, shook his head, and tried it a third time and took leave of my lap....lol Silly kitty! Beer if for Big Kiddies!

Left overs (Wanted and Un-wanted;)

It always happens, whether you want it to or not, whether you are careful or not..... The dye package in your steamer somehow manages to bleed dye which congeals and heats in the bottom of your pot. All the colors converging into a muddy melting pot of a sort.

There is just something in me that cringes with the idea of throwing that luscious mix of muddy colors away. It comes from my little Granny who lived in England during WWII, I just can't bear the thought of pouring it down the sink! Sure, I don't know what color it will turn into, but it can be tweeked just smidge by adding other colors to give a deeper shade of say a green or blue or purple or red or you get where this is going.

Lets say it's late at night and you just don't have time to do anything with it. Well, you know those left over jars from p-nut butter, jelly and other consumables you have cleaned out and crammed under you sink thinking....well, I'll use it for something some day............. Ladies and Gents today is the day to dust off your neglected empty jar taking up space and fill it with left over dye to be used another day.....lol

If you are a dyer, you know what this is. If you aren't, I was a tad careless and got some of my dye on the kitchen counter top. Here is a quick tip on how to clean off the dye that you think has stained your laminate counter top till the end of time.......

1. Locate dye spots

2. Get some of the cheap'o'la brand of bathroom foaming cleaner. Spray on and scrub w/ a scrubbie.

3. Admire your nice, once again clean counter top.

Guess I have to add a disclaimer here. This method is not recommended for marble countertops only laminate. This method works well for me, I am not saying you should go out and scrub your counter tops down w/ foaming cleaners to get rid of stains. Nor am I guaranteeing it will work for you. I will not be held responsible for any damages you cause by using this method. I'm just saying I like it and it works for me.......

Damn shame we live in a society where one feels the need of adding a disclaimer.

Don't you think?

Shop Updates

A few of the new offerings now on Lunabudknits:

Tickled Pink - Superwash Sock Yarn

Huntsman - Merino Roving

Midnight - Wool/Tussah Silk Lace Yarn

Custom Blending of Alpaca, Rambouillet, Firstar and Bamboo

There are many more bright and cheery offerings posted to break up the monotony of your winter blues. So, come on by and take a gander:)

Lunabudknits

Winner......

There were so many good names this go round! And let me tell you, it was a dang hard decision! Some made me laugh, some made me think, but in the end, there was one that just stuck in my head.........

The winner is ..... Crochetgurl with " Sour Apple Bubblegum".

I want to thank everyone who participated. All of your suggestions and ideas were much appreciated:) Thank you one and all for helping to make this contest a success!

News

My Granny is in the hospital. We thought she might be going home yesterday, but looks more like today or tomorrow. I have the most wonderful Granny. She is the kind of Granny that everyone wants and I thank my lucky stars everyday that she is mine. She truly is the light of my life. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

Thanks,
Steph

Calling Knitters

I need some help;) I have a few patterns I have been working on developing and I need a few test subjects, oops, I mean knitters. Mostly it is simple stuff like felted bags, felted needle cases, hats, fingerless mittens, etc. Right now, I am working on getting them legible and into PDF format, but pretty soon, I will be needing a few test knitters to test the patterns to check my pattern writing ability. I can't really afford to pay anyone, but I can give you a copy of the pattern/s for free for your personal non-commercial use.

Anyone interested? Let me know in the comments section and I will fire out the pattern you are interested in.

More Ace

Once upon a time, I would buy stuffed squeeky animals for Miss Piper to play with. I would buy one after another hoping beyond hope that she would take an interest in playing with her toys. Needless to say, Miss Piper is not a wild thing, but Ace sure is! Here he has the big long legged pink horsey toy. Yes, i know it does not look like a horse, but trust me laying out with out being tangled it does...lol Ace will carry his 'Horsey' all over the house and play hard with it. We found a laser light for him to chase around the house and eventually, I will get around to getting a picture of some of Ace's laser light acrobatics....lol

Before you go, make sure to sign up for the Name this Colorway Contest. It will be open through the end of this month, just in time for Christmas shopping!

Front Page news!

The first time it happened, I was not going to toot my own horn.....  but..........

It happened a SECOND time!  I am excited and flabber ghasted all at once.  Thank you very much!!

The first time! My yarn is in upper right corner.

The second time was today, and I was not quick enough to get a screen capture of it, but I was able to find the treasury list it was on later:)  The red yarn.

NAME THIS COLORWAY CONTEST!!

New Contest....

NAME THIS COLORWAY!!

OK, I have a new contest going. I just can't seem to pull a name for this fun and wildly colored combination out of my itsy brain.  Mom stopped by the house and was practically drooling over this one.  Very bright colors on the superfine softness of 80's merino top!

The rules are:

1. If you can't say it to a second grader, in church or to your Granny, don't use it in the name. 

2. To enter you can submit your name idea in the comments section to this post.

3. In the event of a duplicate entry, the person who first submitted the name has the valid entry.

4. Contest runs until the end of NOVEMBER!  Just in time for the holidays.

Prize is $10 credit for fiber or yarn or what ever from my Etsy shops 

LunabudsAttic or LunabudKnits

ACE Pics

Yes, we love our little kitty;) Bill has finally started to enjoy having Ace around. It took a little warming up on his part, but he is having tons of fun watching and playing with Ace...lol.. It really is quite funny to watch Bill chase Ace around...hehehe Sorry no pics of that, but I took quite a few this morning!

Kangaroo Kitty

Yoga Kitty

Tail Catcher Kitty.

I see something Kitty.

Sleepy Kitty.

Back into the Swing of Things

The new house is still not completely done. The little bungalow is still lacking some, OK, well a lot, of cutting in around the trim, new fixtures (light and sink) as well as a few bits here and there. And let us not leave out the big project right now of getting the mini deck finished and the doggie door in so Miss Piper can come and go from the garage as she pleases. Oh, better not forget finishing up with removing the hideous bathroom wall paper job that we now know why it was put up. Don't worry, I won't make you look at it. Suffice to say some one thought they were an artist. The 'Craft' room is still in shambles, but clutter is my friend:)

LOL.... Things really are beginning to shape up and look normal. Well normal for us.

This brings a great sigh of relief to me because it means I can now buckle down and get to some long awaited tasks at hand. I have been lax on really sitting down and spinning, so this week end I am devoting myself to some much needed therapy of spinning yarn. I have a few pounds of alpaca fiber left to spin for Chris before I go for my next batch, so my goal is to finish up Belle's last bit of fleece and hopefully spin up a pound of Fudge's fleece this week end.

Chris if you do not know has some absolutely fabulous and wonderfully soft alpacas. If you have a chance check her out at: CRW Alpaca Farm.

A Shout Out

Imagine me doing the happy Snoopy dance after meeting Mr. Mail Man half way through the front yard with sinful glee as he passed over the new toy! Opened the box, Followed the directions, and Was in total bliss as I realize now what a fool I had been to have used a Niddy-Noddy for all this time!

This winder from The Wooden Spinner has a counter off all things, making it much easier to keep track of your yardage! This comes in so handy when winding from a cone. The wood (I chose walnut) is smooth and snag free, not to leave out stunning! Unlike those little fishing line measuring devices (you know what I mean), this can go fast or slow regardless of the tension to count the yards wound on. If you are using, selling or dying yarn in bulk, this comes in so dang handy!!

I am simply in heaven and you should be too! So head on over to The Wooden Spinner and get your own!

Second Etsy Shop

The Stash bins over floweth, so a new shop was started to handle the huge bins of stash yarn and the boxes upon boxes of antique and vintage items I have.    So, come on down and get it while it's hot and still here!

INTRODUCING

The new member of the house of hair.......

You knew this little man as Thing Two.

One of the kittens we found dumped by the side of the road.

We found homes for both of the kittens, but I had begged mean ol' Mr Bill to keep Thing Two. He grumbled but put his foot down....

No. No. No.

Later that evening Bill told me he almost gave in and said OK. I guess Mr Bill is not that bad after all. Although he did go with out that night if you know what I mean...lol

I did tell the Lady I gave him to that if he did not work out, I wanted him back.

Luck would have it that my little guy did not work out with her. Took me no time at all to run home get my kitty carrier and go pick him up. I debated when I got him home whether to find a new home for him or not, but really, I couldn't let my snuggle bug go again. So while Mr Bill was away with work last week, I found a name for my little man. I knew it had to be something a little bit more manly, because lets face it I just can't see Mr Bill wanting to call a male cat snuggle puss or fluffy butt....lol Plus, we do already have a Miss Piper, Miss Kitty and Miss Applebutter.

I would like you all to meet ACE, the wild thing who is the master of the flying leap and funny faces!!!

Contest Winner Announced!!!!!!

I was in awe of the response I got from the 'Name this Colorway' Contest!  I'm always in shock when I see the amount of people who check out this wee little blog.  I want to thank everyone for making this Contest such a success!  I have enjoyed the response so much that I am planning to do one again after Thanksgiving, so stay tuned.....

Oh, wait.....  I bet you are wondering who won aren't you!?!

Not to keep you all in suspense any longer.......

Well, maybe a little longer......

Drum Roll Please Maestro.........

..............

........

The Winner is.........

BEA of the BAA BAA BLACKSHEEP with MASQUERADE

There were some absolutely wonderful names submitted, so this decision was very hard to say the least.  I  really do appreciate all of the wonderful responses!  You all ROCK!!!

New Fibers!

It has been a while since I posted about what is for sale at my Etsy shop: LunabudKnits. Come on by and give us a peek! And don't forget about signing up for my CONTEST! Free and fun for all ages!

Wensleydale combed top

Merino/Cashmere 80/20 combed top

Drum Carded Superwash Batts

Wacky Battys - A little bit of everything for everyone!

Hand dyed 25 micron lace weight wool yarn

New Contest!!!! Name This Colorway!

Contest Ended October 2008

OK, I have a new contest going. Last night i was at the dye pot and thought using red purple and brown would look beautiful together. I know sounds like a funky combination, but hey I'm a fun and funky gal....lol

Any how, I am running a contest to see who can come up with the name I like best to call this colorway. The rules are:

1. If you can't say it to a second grader, in church or to your Granny, don't use it in the name.

2. To enter you can submit your name idea in the comments section to this post.

3. In the event of a duplicate entry, the person who first submitted the name has the valid entry.

4. Contest runs until the end of October 2008!

Prize is $20 worth of fiber or yarn from my Etsy shop http://lunabudknits.etsy.com !

Kentucky Wool Festival

Yesterday, Diane, Kim, Pat & I helped with a sheep to scarf demonstration at the Kentucky Wool Festival. There were sheep, goats, cows and alpacas. As well as craft vendors of all types. There were sheep shearing demonstrations and probably a whole bunch of stuff that I missed out on. We had a ton of fun.

I entered a few skeins of yarn into the handspun competition. Happy to say I had a few ribbon winners:) And here they are! Drum roll please.................

Kittens.....

There is a reason my bumper sticker reads 'The more people I meet, the more I like my dog.'

This week end while at the creek, there was a pile of bags and plastic from where some one had been stripping electrical cables for the copper. Standing right behind the bags were two kittens who seemed shocked to see me. The first kitten was an easy catch as it was a bit more bold and fearless than the smaller kitten. The second kitten, well, lets just say it wasn't that the little runt was a fast mover, but rather the brush was over my head and hard for me to plow through in flip-flops, took another 30-45 minutes to catch.

The kittens were so skinny you could feel every rib in their bodies and did not have much energy at all. Once home they snarfed down some of Miss Kitty's softened food and proceeded to hide behind the commode and sleep hard. For two days that was pretty much all they did except for shred the toilet paper. Today, was a whole different story....lol

Thing One (caught first) and Thing Two (caught second) are now very excited to see everyone. They are playing hard and doing very good with the litter pan thing.

Thing One will walk right up to you and plop down for a belly rub, where as Thing Two is a real climber preferring not to sit still. Thing One loves sitting in your lap for some good scratching and Thing Two is a real climber.......lol

It just really ticks me off that someone dropped these two kittens off along the side of the road thinking they could care for themselves! What the H*LL is wrong with people?


Thing One


Thing One


Thing Two


Thing Two

For Chris's Sister

What a jerk I am. In my whirlwind of fixing the new home and moving all at once, I completely forgot to mail the yarn I had spun for Chris's sister. Chris, here it is. I still have the address and hopefully I can get it mailed out tomorrow. I do hope she likes it and enjoy using it. Am finishing up Dodger hopefully this week and then on to the next critter.

Inside the new house!

Well, you have seen the outside (a few posts back). Now take a gander at some before interior shots. Keep in mind that these are before shots of the house with a few in between shots. Once every thing is said and done I will post after shots:)



The Foyer....still in need of cutting into the ceiling. It was a tan/peachy color.



The Kitchen... It is finished now and has black whirlpool range, fridge and under-cabinet microwave. Previous color was an almost hunter green (like in the living room). Finished color is Lyndhurst Mushroom.



The Living Room... Here you can see the green that was in the kitchen. This room is finished with Lyndhurst Mushroom tinted paint. Originally, where the dry walled shelf was there was a wall with a cut out for a pre-fab electric fireplace (what a waste of money). Anyhow, we crawled in and looked up to see that it was completely hollow inside. So, we opened it up, leveled the sides as it was extremely crooked, and added a shelf to use for display.



Ah... The Dining Room... When I first saw this room, I thought baby poo yellow. I don't know what they were thinking when they chose the color for this room, but follow the yellow brick road came to mind. The room is now a Wedgewood Green color. It is a huge room and we are thinking that 1/2 of it can be a dining room and the other 1/2 my spinning wheel area.



Bad Yellow Brick Road..... Good Wedgewood



The Half Bath... Not a bad color, but definitely not the best either. This will be painted Lyndhurst Timber.




The Second Floor Hall...... Was the same color as the foyer, half bath and stairway. It is being changed by Painter Don to a lighter and less peachy Oatmeal.



The Shared Bath.... When you first gazed upon this room you had to put a hand up to shield the glare from what could only be described as a neon yellow color. I don't like being shocked first thing in the morning, and I assume any overnight guests would feel the same, so the color is now Oatmeal like the hallway:)



The Pink Bed Room.... Honestly this color was not bad. In fact, it would be perfect if we had a little girl, but we do not, so it got a coat of left over paint from the Master bedroom Lyndhurst Timber tinted. This will either be my stash room or a guest bedroom.



The Kermit Bed Room.... Just a wee bit on the froggy green color for our tastes. We actually think it verges on being neon green. This room got two coats of Oatmeal. Will be either my stash room or a guest bedroom.



The Master Bedroom.... The original colonial blue was not bad at all. Unfortunately it did not mesh well with the other colors we chose for the house. You can see where it has already been painted Lyndhurst Timber.



The Master Bath.... I can only say I dislike improperly installed sliding shower doors that are the incorrect size almost as much as I dispize the hideous roman column wall paper topped off with a cheap bath tub border. This room will probably be the last one to be done as I hate stripping wallpaper. Might use the Wedgewood green in here, but that might change depending on what left over paint we have.



The Basement (AKA The Boy Room).... Not a bad color, but again, it has to go. The new color is rolling on much darker than the paint sample is and looks almost like slate, but we like it and have decided to do two accent walls in Oatmeal (because the 3 gallons of the slate just are not going to cut it).



The Basement...... This section of the basement leads to the steps.



The 'Unfinished' Basement..... This is Bill's little project room. It is water proofed already, but we decided another coat of a water proof sealer would not hurt anything. See Bill hard at work! Isn't he a cutie:)