SpiderWomanKnits

{a picture a day} it looks promising

{And our garlic is starting to come up too! (not pictured)}

We hope to move lots of poop around this weekend. I know that sounds ridiculous but it's true. Indy and Hayden spent the winter in our backyard again (this will be the year we have a proper fence for them in the field, really) so there is lots of tidying up to do back there. Lucky for us Alpaca poop is wonderful for the garden so a good portion of it will head to our raised beds again. The rest is up for grabs. We have egg customers who bring me empty buckets which I fill up and return to them the next time they come for eggs.

This is the last weekend for the Spring Cleaning Sale in my Etsy Shop. There isn't much left but what's there is really good. I literally cleaned out 'the shop' too, or the room where I store my vintage goodies while they wait for their new homes, and I found so many exciting things to list starting next week.

But I just can't wait to get my hands in that dirt again. How about you?

{a picture a day} weekend getaway

I'm dusting off and packing up my Amelia Earhart. Oh, check out this ad I just found! Looks like the same case! I have a pretty decent collection of vintage luggage but this is my most treasured piece given to me by my mother-in-law a few years ago. I don't travel often but when I do I prefer old pieces like this. It just feels good to carry something beautiful and even when it's in use, or just laying around, it's pleasing to the eye. My knitting is all packed up in the Traveljoy.

I'm heading out for a ladies only weekend getaway with a few of my closest friends. I have been looking forward to this for months now! To say that I am excited is a gross understatement. I'll be back on Monday!

Have a lovely and relaxing weekend!

xoxo

Spidey

{a picture (every other) day} cruising along

 

Before I share my Eco project I figured I should share the Cruiser Mitts I finished a while back. You can catch a glimpse of them here. What a fun project! I really loved knitting these. All of my project details are on Ravelry and for a close up of my long gray hair that's coming in go here. What do I do? Start dyeing? Ack! There is really a lot on top.

{a picture a day} all that's left of the eco wool

Just one wee bitty bit. That was a close one. But I can't wait to show you what happened to the rest of it!

I hope you all had a lovely weekend. My in-laws braved horrendous weather to drive up and watch the kids for us so that Greg and I could go out and celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. It was just what we needed since we so rarely/never have time alone. Here's a little bit of our love story that I shared a few years ago and even more of the story here.

{a picture a day} i am apollo's personal knitter

My dear friend Michelle asked me if I would knit her dog, Apollo, a sweater. I have to admit to being more than intimidated by the request. Even as an experienced knitter I just didn't have any concept of size or fit or proportion etc. I knit the pieces of a sweater using this pattern but didn't feel like I could piece it together right. I felt like I needed to have him in front of me to try it on and see if I was heading in the right direction with leg hole placement etc.

So he came over this morning! I love my friend but I almost stole her dog. Isn't he so handsome? If I had a little dog I might never knit anything else ever again but tiny little adorable sweaters for him. Oh my. I am smitten. And so was Simonne.  Even though we couldn't convince Michelle to let us have him she agreed to let me be his personal knitter, so, that will have to do. Project Raveled here.

{a picture a day} stack of woolen scarves

I scored a pretty lovely pile of woolen plaid scarves at the Goodwill this morning. They are making me mighty happy right now and the possibilities of what to do with them seem endless. My first thought as I was picking them up in the store was to stitch them together into one large throw leaving the ends fringed as they are. But I don't know? What do you think?

{a picture a day} balloon blocking

I've lost count of how many Pilot Caps I've knit for the shop so far. These are so much fun to knit and nothing fills my heart more than getting pictures of little babes across the country whose adorable noggins are warmed with my handiwork. This particular order is really special to me because it's recipient has outgrown it's first cap and the mama loves this style so much she ordered the next size up.

I like to block these caps to size on balloons which is a nifty trick my friend Amanda passed on to me. You simply blow up a balloon to the size of the recipients head by measuring the circumference of the balloon as you blow it up, tie it, put your hat on top and let your hat dry in place.

{a picture a day} a new tool shed for me and some new tools too

I recently had to replace my beloved set of bamboo interchangeable circular knitting needles that Greg bought for me when I first started knitting about 6 years ago. As much as I loved and appreciated knitting with them I was never 100% in love with the whole interchangeable concept. So, when I stumbled upon Brilliant Knitting on Etsy I bought the 16" set of circulars right away, holy value! I loved them so much that I bought the 24" set about a month later. Let me just say that I am so much happier with these than fiddling with tips, searching for lost cables etc. I could also go on and on about the join on these (so smooth) and the fact that the cable thickness directly corresponds with the needle size (awesome!).

This also meant that I found myself with 30 circular needles on my hands so I needed some way to store them. On Thursday I finally got around to whipping up a case that can hold all 15 sizes. It was such a quick project and I had so much fun being able to customize it for these needles which are such a pleasure to use. I can put different lengths of the same size needle in each pocket so it holds all 30. It was also nice to complete a sewing project! It's been a long time since I've sat down at the machine. I used vintage fabric from my stash for the exterior and the interior pockets and a canvas drop cloth for the backing. I ended up covering a button with the drop cloth too as a closure.  I sewed that top interior flap into a triangle like that leaving edges open to stash a tape measure and perhaps some tapestry needles.

It feels so good to be able to just open this up and have the tools I need right at hand and I am very satisfied with my choice not to go with another interchangeable set.

PS. Don't forget to include your link to your {a picture a day post} in the comments!

{a picture a day} let's kick this funk together!

{My current Facebook profile  picture. Get it? Profile. Hardy har har.}

Since I started this picture a day quest I have had a few emails, a comment and a friend also state that they might want to do this too to help them with this February Funk a lot of us seem to be in. So, let's make it official! It feels so much better to know you are not alone in a creative, blogging or general life rut. And, it's also wonderful to be inspired.

How about this? No rules, no requirements, no start date, no stop date. Just when you feel you need to or want to, take a picture! If you blog it make sure to share the link to your post in the comments section of my current post so that we can all see! If you are blogless or would rather share through Flickr I created a {a picture a day group}.  Don't, by any means, feel that you have to share either! The key point here is to just get inspired again not feel overwhelmed.

But oh, I can't wait to see what you all are up to though and what is inspiring you right now if you do decide to share!

Have a great weekend!

xoxo

Spidey

{a picture a day} winding down

My center pull ball winder (aka the cake maker) broke a while back and I haven't really had the urge to replace it. There is something so relaxing about winding a ball of yarn from a hank by hand. Greg usually helps me by holding the yarn while I wind or I drape it over the back of that antique high chair in the picture if he's not around. Once Jorn offered to help me and we ended up joking that sitting still and holding yarn for a knitter while they wind it into a ball should be The 37th Chamber. But tonight I was winding a ball of Eco Wool (almost 500 yards of bulky!) so I had to use my swift to hold it. Even then it took a long time to wind and the ball is huge! Next time, I'd like to try this.