everything is well, it’s just been harder to post with the nicer, longer alaska summer days, weekend warrior trips, working full time, and my never ending want/need to take naps after work!  but today is a rainy, dreary day so here i am.

anyway, to explain my tiredness and the blog being the last thing on my mind:  buku (my partner for the past six years) and i are expecting our first child the first week of october!

we are ready and very excited about it – though, it might come out saying “duuuude” as that’s what b says in reference to the growing belly.  we are planning a home, water birth through Geneva Woods Midwifery and Womens Clinic.  they are amazing ladies and we have friends and acquaintances who have had incredible birth experiences through them.  i actually just bought some cloth diapers on craigslist from a lady who had the same midwife as i, and talked to her about her experience for awhile.

so far the pregnancy has been great!  and i’m not sugar coating it.  it’s made me more calm then i’ve ever been.  i didn’t have any of the typical pregnancy symptoms – morning sickness, crazy hormones (ok, maybe like twice), weird cravings, hunger issues, etc..  i don’t really feel pregnant other than being able to fall asleep easily, the expanding belly and milk factory, and the kicks from the inside!  my abilities at work start to wane at around 330pm, but i try to get in there early enough so i’m not completely useless by that time of day…

anyway, enough about being pregnant, i’m sure you will hear more (if i can get it together to blog a little more)!

and an even more important announcement:

buku’s little brother had a baby boy yesterday – i’m an aunt!  tristin michael:

i have been in the garden and sewing a lot.  mostly baby blankets and burp rags as gifts (many friends are expecting) and a few things for myself!  a few friends and i also tie-dyed some onesies (the weird one piece contraptions with the buttons at the crotch – for those of you who don’t know – JODY!).  i will post pics soon.  just want to get this posted.

’til then…

i finished an ipad cozy for a friend, but won’t post a picture until it is in the recipients hands.  hopefully tomorrow if it dries fast.

i finally got the buttons sewn on the mossy jacket.  it was already cute, but the perfect buttons really complete a project.  they are brown flowers.  this is going to a friend who is not super girly so i was a little scared of the bright pink, but i think the brown buttons balance it out nicely.

i have been spinning my specially dyed purple/grey wool from the sheep shed studio:

and my black cherry kool aid dyed mill ends.  they are kind of difficult to draft and spin because they are such short chunks of fiber.  i hate stopping and going so much.

and mr. richard finally bloomed!  though slow, he’s quite the looker (much like my little sister!):

and the title of my post…  buku got some shamwow chamois from a friend for his birthday.

the other day i was looking for a towel to roll up my yarn in after i wet washed it.  then i remembered the shamwows that were not seeing daylight.  it worked awesome.  especially doubled over.  not that it’s much different from a towel, but it definitely took more moisture out of the yarn than a normal cotton kitchen towel (which is saturated after one squeeze and not reusable after that).  i have been using them to get water out of projects that i block as well.  and the chamois he got are not all ‘shamwow’ brand, so this is definitely not a plug for that annoying infomercial!  so fiber fanatics – invest in some chamois (the ones you get for swimming might even work better)!

’til then…

life has been a little busier these days with work and other crafts – that i can’t really reveal yet (we are making my bff’s wedding dress!!).

but i did do this last weekend.  it is some of my brown sheep mill ends dyed with black cherry kool aid.  i’m spinning it up right now and will post a pic sometime this weekend.

i have a few projects i want to finish up this weekend, but it’s blue sky and sunny out (not so warm, unless you are in your car in the sun) so we will see…

oh, mr. richard:

’til then…

i got my order from the sheep shed studio this week.

the prices are awesome, though the shipping is a little steep and it takes at least a week or two to get to AK.  they use tracking though, so at least i know when it’s time to go check the post office.

when i started spindle spinning i ordered some fiber from the SSS and since then I’ve gone through most of it.  my stash has been fairly depleted (at least in variety of colors) the past month or so.  i ordered a lot of specially dyed fiber, and i love it!  carol sent me so many different colors and you can order in different weights….i am very pleased with all of the purples and blues.

out of the box:

a 1 lb. grab bag (i think i will be kool-aid dyeing a lot of the white):

1 lb. of wool in tahiti teal:

4 oz. of specially dyed superwash – very patriotic!:

another 4oz. of specially dyed superwash (carol always throws in something extra- i got one of these 4 oz.!! )

8 oz. of specially dyed superwash (my fave):

4 oz. of specially dyed wool:

8 oz. of assorted specially dyed mohair (for blending):

thanks carol!

off the bobbins:

2 oz. of BFL – 224 yards ( i have 2 bobbins of this):

a better photo of my 2 oz. of 2-ply romney – 88 yards (i have 2 bobbins of this):

ashley’s mr. richard – residing in california:

after blooming, ms. mary has gotten droopy and will be shedding her petals and getting ready for round 2.

more later…

’til then…

on the needles:

i went to Friday night knitting for an hour or so and worked on these.  it’s wise hilda’s basic ribbed sock.  super easy and fast pattern.  i should have the first sock done by tonight.

the project bag above, was made by vegancraftastic.  she also makes bigger bags and small zipper pouches out of really cute fabrics.

off the needles:

i am blocking this and will post another picture tomorrow when it’s dry and the very cute buttons are sewn on.  the mossy jacket:

off the bobbins:

i have a second skein on a bobbin.  a two- ply, new zealand romney:

the results of my handcarding experiment:

and

ms. mary.  she has four flowers that are now fully bloomed.  she is so tall and top heavy (totally opposite of my grandmothers physique) that i had to tie her to our standing lamp to keep her upright.

and ashley’s mr. richard:

buku did some transplanting of starts to bigger pots this weekend.  we are just waiting for it to warm up and get sunny again.  this weekend was horrible weatherwise.  yesterday we played 18 holes of disc golf out at kincaid and it was chilly and windy.  we want march weather back!

today we decided on an inside activity (its windier and gloomier than yesterday) and went to the anchorage museum to catch the Star Wars Exhibit with steve and jenn (check out their blog about their new and very cute australian cattle puppy, pongo).

the exhibit was really cool – i liked all the models and costumes – especially the full size wookies.  there is a millennium falcon virtual experience that we didn’t make it to – the wait was 90 minutes!  but we were able to get a pass to come back later in the week.

oh, and i discovered google reader.  if you like to read blogs and like to stay caught up, check it out.  it’s my new favorite thing on the internet.

last night i dyed some of my fiber that i got from my bff for xmas – with kool-aid!  it will be kind of a long post so i thought i would break it up from this one.  so, check out my next post for some colorful and fun fiber.

’til then…