Progress

I have made pretty good progress on Mythica - well, for me anyhow! I really love working with this yarn so I'm not really rushing it ya know? But, here's how it looks right now.


The Superbowl squares are still going. I'm hoping we are able to fill up all 100 squares! If not, we'll figure something else out so that we don't have any blank spaces. I have something new to add to the mix though........

If you repost THIS Knit Witch post on your blog - I will give you one entry. We have a limited time to spread the word to get all of the squares filled so if you can help us spread the word I would appreciate it! If you repost it - just email me to let me know and I'll give you a square (or another square if you have already sent some contributions in). Sound good???

What's everyone up to for the weekend? I think we will probably be laying low. I think the weather here is supposed to be bad (read: a few flakes of snow and maybe even some ice). Even though you Northerners and Canadians will be laughing at us - that means staying home! We had to go to the grocery store yesterday because we were out of bananas. My husband has suddenly decided that he is eating nothing but tuna fish, cottage cheese and bananas so we couldn't be out of bananas. Whatever...........I try not to lecture him on the dangers of mercury poisoning. But the grocery store was CRAZY! I didn't even know that many people lived in Blue Ridge! Good grief.

Monday I start my first class...........eeeek (taking not teaching)! So, I need to get busy doing some reading and working on some assignments this weekend too. I contacted my old employer (Children's Healthcare of Atlanta) about doing my dissertation in conjunction with them so that I could actually do a useful project that would matter to someone. I told them that my primary area of interest is in nursing education and they were very receptive - so I am excited about that! It would be great to go back there and do some work on a project.

OK - I'm rambling! I have lots of dyeing to do today as I am making some of those gorgeous shawl kits for Stitches South which I am very excited about!!!! The kits will be available in the Only Ewe and Cotton Too booth and I'll let you know more details about it as I find them out.



Don't forget to post the contest on your blog - thanks everyone!!!

Squares are filling up!

Thanks to everyone who has already donated to Charity: Water for entry into the Superbowl squares contest! So far, we have filled 1/4 of the squares so there is still plenty of room for you to get in on the fun. Here's what Knit Witch has decided to contribute as prizes:

1st quarter winner will receive a skein of our Cauldron yarn (Merino/Cashmere/Nylon blend) in their choice of colors! The colors available are below:

Stinging Nettle

Deadly Nightshade

Eye of Newt

Hair of Unicorn

Poison Hemlock

Scale of Dragon

3rd quarter winner will receive a $25 gift certificate for Knit Witch. Since we use Paypal (which unfortunately does not offer me that ability to create gift certificates) we will refund $25 on your next purchase from us.

Kate will be sending the prizes for the 2nd and 4th quarter prizes. I think she said she is contributing a skein of her bamboo blend yarn and a skein of her djini sock yarn. We'll see what she has for sure but that is what I have heard so far.

Keep in mind that theoretically you can win more than one quarter! If the score does not change or if you happen to be lucky enough to hold more than one square corresponding with the current score at the end of the quarter. One time I played this with some friends (no yarn involved sadly) but my friend won all 4 quarters!!

If you want to see complete details on the contest you can look at yesterday's blog post.

I have made a lot of progress on Mythica so I'll share some pictures of that with you tomorrow!

Contest!!

Okay - we have worked out the details for the new contest! ALL monies donated will be going to Charity:Water to help support their efforts in Haiti of getting clean drinking water to those who have been affected by this terrible tragedy. So, what's better than donating to a great cause and winning some yarn in the process, right?!?!

Here's how it works:

- Go to the Charity:Water website and donate. Each $5 you donate will buy you one square. You can "buy" as many squares as you like. There are 100 total spots available.
- All donations must be received by midnight on Friday February 5th or before the squares are full in order to be eligible for the prize giveaways. When the squares are full we will make an announcement here on the blog and in the Ravelry group.
- Email us to let us know that you donated and how much by emailing us at theknitwitch@gmail.com. Your name will go in a hat however many times you have donated (if you have donated $10, for instance, your name will go in the hat twice).
- In the interest of compling with any "gambling laws" we will say here that you do not HAVE to donate in order to be entered. If you would like to be entered without donating you can send an email to me at theknitwitch@gmail.com. You will receive one entry into the contest.
- On February 6th Wayne and I will randomly draw the names to place on the grid. Then we will randomly draw the numbers (0-9 on the top and side) to place on the grid. This way, the names are on the grid before we see where the numbers are just to ensure complete randomness.
- At the end of each quarter for the Superbowl on February 7th, we will look at the score of the game and whoever has the 2 numbers that correspond with the last 2 numbers on the score will be the winner for that quarter (for instance, if the score is 10-24 Saints then we would look for the person who has the 0 and 4 square respective to the teams)
- There will be 2 prizes from Knit Witch and 2 prizes from Dragonfly Fibers - THANK YOU KATE!!!
- Kate is donating 2 skeins of yarn and I am donating a skein of yarn and a $20 gift certificate to Knit Witch.
- After we make the grid we will find someway to post it for everyone before the game so that you can all follow along at home!
- We'll make a special thread in the Knit Witch group on Ravelry for football trash talk!! :)

If you have any questions or if there is anything I forgot to mention here - please post a question here as a comment or in the group and we'll get it answered for you.

Now GO DONATE to a great cause and get your chance to win some great prizes and have some fun with your fellow knitters!! Anyone who was not interested in the game will now be interested - this contest will probably make some husbands really happy - in fact, they might offer money for the donation - haha!!! :)

Superbowl Squares anyone???

So - the Superbowl is coming up on February 7th in Miami. We always like to play Superbowl Squares just because it is silly and fun. I was thinking though..................we could do the same thing with Knit Witch!!! See what you think of this idea:

We have 100 squares and sell them for $5 each. If we do that then we will donate 50% of the proceeds to Charity:Water to go towards their efforts in Haiti (that would be $250 - not too shabby!). For every $5 you would get a square and you could buy up to 5 squares maybe??

Wayne and I would randomly draw the names and put them on the grid then we would randomly draw the numbers to go across the top and side of the grid (0-9 on the top and 0-9 on the side). Then, we determine the winners at the end of each quarter based on the score of the game. So, for instance, if the score was 24 to 10 we would look up the square that coincides with 4 and 0 for the respective teams and then that person is the winner for the quarter.

We would have prizes for the winner of each quarter like a $20 GC to Knit Witch, a skein of yarn, a yarn bowl, etc.

What do you guys think???? Would anyone be interested in this? I think it would be fun AND we would be raising some money for a good cause PLUS there would be some karmic balancing gifts included as well!!!

Let me know your thoughts. If there is enough interest we will get this going pretty quickly because we would need to have all the squares filled by about February 5th I think.

Introducing......................

Mythica!!!


http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/mythica


YAY! The pattern is finally available for everyone on Ravelry! I am really excited about this pattern. I am knitting it right now and I am really enjoying it. Here are some pictures of my progress thus far.



I am actually done with the back now and just started on the front half of the top. This one is being done in colorway "Zeus". I LOVE the subtle variation that this color has.

As you all know - I am not the speediest of knitters which is why I don't offer to do test knits very often. I figured that I could "somewhat" take my time on this one though because we had some other (much speedier) wonderful test knitters. It seems to be moving along pretty well though so I'll keep you posted!

I have dyed up lots of our wonderful DK weight over the past couple of weeks so we have lots of DK weight in large lot numbers for this pattern. If you run into any problems for any reason ordering it on the site just let me know!

Knitting..........

So, I'm knitting a test knit for a pattern made with our DK weight yarn. The pattern is great - thus far my knitting has sucked. Here's how it has gone so far:

- Start the cabled band - screw up the first few cables but don't realize it until several repeats later of course

- Decide to keep going and just rip out from the bottom up at the end since the band is started with a provisional cast on (I'm sure you can see where THAT went)

- Spend about 2 hours trying to fix my ridiculous plan to rip out from the bottom up (just in case you were wondering - doing this does NOT WORK which I knew but figured I could conquer it anyway - the knitting won)

- There were scissors involved so I'm sure you can see just how bad this was

- Seriously, I think I was sweating after all the work on fixing that band

- Fixed the band - kitchenered it together - no problem (ironically - kitchener stitch is the only thing I had NO problems with - go figure)

- Pick up stitches around the band

- Realize that I didn't pick up enough stitches so I decide to just do increases on the next row

- Finish that and then read the next line in the pattern which calls for more increases (dudes, this is totally why you should read your whole pattern before you start)

- Fumble around about what to do and then decide to just add increases in on the next row

- Knit for about 4 hours before realizing that my knitting looks like total crap and ponder what to do

- Knit another row and decide that it still looks like crap

- Decide that if it looks like crap at 1" then it is going to look like crap at 3.5" so..............

- Rip out all work down to the cable band

- Pick up stitches again this time working all increases into the first knitted row - woooo hoooo - right number of stitches!!!

- Realize that I picked up stitches with the WRONG SIDE FACING! FPS!!!!!!

- Rip out again down to cable band

- Pick up stitches AGAIN and make increases on the next row (dudes - this is like 200 stitches per round we are talking about!!)

- Realize that I f*&$ed up picking up the stitches AGAIN but pretend that I don't notice that part (seriously - no one will notice a small indiscretion on the back, right?)

- Decide that I don't really care who sees what I'm not ripping back to the dang cable band again

- Pour glass of wine

- Realize I probably should have started with the above step and things probably would have gone better

- Write to pattern designer and tell her that her pattern is great but I just can't seem to follow it correctly for some reason - seriously - I KNOW how to pick up stitches!!!!!!!

- Also tell designer that just because I offer to do a test knit does not mean that she has to actually take me up on the offer - she has probably learned her lesson I am guessing

- Decide that I need to make a video on picking up stitches so that I can watch it myself when I have to pick up stitches along the bottom of the cable band - jeeeez louise!!!!

- Continue knitting merrily along until the next challenge (even though picking up stitches should really NOT be a challenge at all)

- Realize that there is a big difference between K3,P1 (which is what the pattern says) and P1,K3 (which is what I'm doing)

- Tink back 100 stitches

- Put knitting in time out for the night and pour another glass of wine

- Hopefully it will go better today

Have a great weekend!!!!! I'll be working on the test knit and then celebrating my birthday all weekend!!! My mom is coming tomorrow - sheesh - I better get this house cleaned up!!

January

Yes, January is significant. Not just because it's my birthday month (3 days but who's counting) but because it seems like every renewal known to man is due in January, right?? So, you get to spend tons of money renewing this, that and the other. And, since my birthday is in January, it also means I get to renew my car tags as well. Thank goodness GA moved to the "renew in your birthday month" instead of the "OMG EVERYONE RENEWS IN JANUARY so the tax commissioners office turns into a place from hell. I still have to renew in January but thankfully, it is no longer along with everyone else in GA!

I have a black Ford Explorer. I have driven a black Explorer for probably 15 years now (dang that makes me feel old!). Not the same one mind you but a black Ford Explorer in some form. My husband also has a black Explorer. That was totally unplanned but it just worked out that way. Maybe that's why our marriage works so well? People who drive the same cars should get married? Anyhow........I digress............

So, we go to the courthouse to pay for and pick up my new car tags. Here in Blue Ridge you can do that sort of thing and you will only be there for 10 minutes at the most. And that's if there is a line. In Atlanta you would NEVER think about paying for your tags in person unless you just absolutely had to for some reason because you will be there all freaking day. OK - I'm digressing again..........

I pay for the tags, walk outside and stick the sticker on my car. My birthday is on Sunday so I was kind of cutting it close so I figure I better get it on my car before I forget. Then, yesterday my husband is getting ready to go somewhere and he asks me where the car tag is so that he can put it on. I replied "Well, it's on the car of course - I put it on in the parking lot at the courthouse." Of course, I say this all proud of myself and then..................it hits me.

We did some swapping around of the titles of our cars for some ridiculous bank reasons that I shall not bore you with. My car (the one I drive) is actually in Wayne's name and Wayne's red Ford pickup truck that he usually drives is actually in my name.

Yeah.............you see where this is going, right??

I put the tag on the WRONG DARN CAR!!!!! Ever tried to get one of those things off?? I can promise you - you can't. I had to call the tag office and tell them that I had put the thing on the wrong darn car and asked what I needed to do to fix it. Well, they acted like I was the first one in history to ever have done such a thing (I'm sure I'm not - right???). But eventually they settled on having me come by to pick up a new tag but they were sure to let me know that I had to go get the other one off of the incorrect car or I was going to jail for like a year or something. It's hard to dye yarn in the pokey, right?

I still haven't been able to get it all the way off. The darn thing comes off in like a billion pieces so you have to scrape one little sliver off at a time. Let that be a lesson to all of you - put your sticker on the right darn car!!!

Gimmie a C!

C in this case is for Chattanooga because that is where we spent our day on Saturday. We drove to Chattanooga, TN (which took about 1.5 hours or so) and went to a cheerleading competition! This was definitely a new experience for us. I have never seen so much make-up in all my life!! :)

One of Wayne's granddaughters was competing. She is in the senior level 5 division out of a gym in Alpharetta and their team is called the Georgia All-Stars. Apparently, they are a force to be reckoned with in the cheerleading world!

That's Ashton, Wayne, Taryn and Barbara.

The competition was fun and her team did GREAT! They actually won first place in their division and were the grand champions! We only went for the one day, Saturday, but it was fun. She is the one on the far left in the front.



After the competition we all piled up and went to the Provino's in Chattanooga for more fun. It was great to see Wayne's daughter again and this was the first time he had actually met this granddaughter (Ashton) since he only found his daughter, Barbara, less than a year ago after being separated from her for over 30 years!!!!

I guess we should have used the red-eye reduction feature, eh?

Baby Surprise

Do you think this post is going to be about a Baby Surprise Jacket? NOPE! Even better. A REAL baby surprise.

A few weeks ago my dad's wife walked out into the pasture and had a big surprise - she found something that she had no idea was even baking.

Meet the latest addition to the farm!!

Isn't she so cute?? She looks like he is wearing a little mask. How would you like to walk out into your pasture one day and see this cutie? This makes the second baby surprise. There was another baby surprise last year. Obviously, it is difficult to tell when alpacas are pregnant if you don't plan it and can't get too close to them! Little Miss Thing needs a name so write in with your suggestions!!! If we pick your name I'll mail you some sort of fancy surprise.

Here's a happy goat:

This brings up another point. My dad's wife, Gale, wants to swap out her male alpaca. She just wants to do an even swap with someone else for an equal type of male alpaca simply to expand the forks of the alpaca tree. He is about 4ish years old and has already (ahem) proven his virility. The male she has is the grey one in the photo above. Here's a better picture of him.

If you have a male alpaca you would be willing to swap (this alpaca is located in GA) or if you know of someone who might be interested please email me at theknitwitch@gmail.com and I can get you hooked up with her to discuss more details about the swap.

Here's the house progress. It's coming right along! I guess I am added for scale in the second picture.

Only Ewe..........

We had such a great time at Only Ewe and Cotton Too on Thursday! We had lots of people stop by to chat and purchase yarn and we ate some great pizza. We ended up being there for like 5 or 6 hours!!

We talked about all kinds of yarn topics. We got a sneak preview of an up and coming pattern made with Knit Witch BFL yarn:

We talked about yarns for the shop:

We talked about yarns for Stitches South (which is coming up frighteningly fast!):

As always, Elyse and Bill were wonderful hosts and we had a good time. Wayne and Bill discussed the kilt wearing at Stitches South topic and I think Wayne has just strengthened his resolve on that issue!!

Wow.

Yesterday when I posted I hadn't heard anything about the earthquake in Haiti yet. What a diaster that all is. When I watched the news last night they were having major trouble getting relief workers into the area due to some kind of problems with the airport in Port-au-Prince. I hope they have gotten that resolved as of today.

Knit Witch has donated $100 to Doctors Without Borders after I heard about the earthquake HERE on Stephanie's blog (why yes I do get all of my news from knitting blogs, why do you ask?). I know it isn't much but I also know that when we all pull together and donate to a cause we really make a huge contribution. I have sent Stephanie an email letting her know that she can add our donation to the total. If you are so inclined, please look at her blog as she has a lot of great instructions for donating to Doctors Without Borders so that our money can best accomplish the relief efforts that they are providing with their medical relief efforts.

Instead of buying a skein from Knit Witch this month........help some people who really need it. I know they will certainly appreciate the help from so many nations once it is actually able to arrive. If you do decide to donate, drop Stephanie an email so that she can add it to her ongoing total for Knitters Without Borders. We knitters can accomplish great things by pulling together to help others.

I'll fill you in next week on our trip to Only Ewe and Cotton Too and my dad's place. We have some great pictures for you!

I hope everyone has a great weekend. Take some time this weekend to send out some good thoughts and positive energy for the people affected by this disaster. Every little bit helps.

Interesting Photos

Well, I don't know how interesting they are really - but I need a quickie post before we head out to Atlanta for the day!

Yesterday, I was walking Petey around downtown and I was wondering why there was all of this yellow "crime scene" tape around the train. Kind of unusual. Then I noticed that something was just not right about the train.

Oooops................




If you can't see that very well - the train is completely off of the track! I guess they are now waiting for a crane to help them get things back on track (literally!). I have no idea how this happened.

And, I snapped a couple of cute pics of our pets. This is Goose and Slim.

This is Goose, Slim and Missy - they are all pretty much inseparable.

And Mr. Petey.


Alright - I hope everyone has a good day and we'll be seeing some of you later at Only Ewe and Cotton Too!!

Kilts and Updates!

OK - you guys were cracking me up yesterday with all of the kilt comments!!! I love it! Wayne did too - he was laughing as he was reading through them. It seems that the general consenus is obviously that he SHOULD purchase a kilt to wear to Stitches South. And, ya know, the funny thing is that a couple of people who actually own companies that sell kilts emailed us!!! So now he has even more to choose from. I am always amazed at who reads this blog or gets a hold of the information in it somehow.

But yes, I agree, I think the kilt will be hawt and definitely entertaining. I can see my dad reading this blog post right now rolling his eyes at Wayne and his antics.........again. Haha! Good thing they get along so well! Speaking of my dad........we'll be going to visit him tomorrow after we get done at Only Ewe and Cotton Too. We will get to see how the house addition is coming along. I think we are going to try to do a field trip from Only Ewe and Cotton Too to the farm sometime in April/May maybe. We are going to try and coordinate it with alpaca shearing day if possible. Should be fun!!! We'll put up details when we know more about it.

A few people have emailed me to ask if I could bring certain products to the shop so that they can see them and so they can save a little on shipping. We are happy to do this and we have cleared this with Elyse and have worked out the details with her. So, if you would like me to bring anything specific please let me know and I'll be happy to do so. We will be there tomorrow, Thursday January 14th around noon.

Wayne put a bunch of new bowls on the site yesterday so those are up and ready for perusal. Luckily, he worked ahead back when the weather was warm as he hasn't been able to do any glazing for weeks now. The temperature has to be above a certain point AND it has to be dry outside otherwise he just does not get good results with the glaze (plus he stands outside and freezes if it is really cold!). He has a lot of bisqued pottery ready to go though when he can glaze again. Hopefully he will be able to get some done this Friday. I know there are still some of you out there waiting on custom bowls. We are working on it - I promise!

This is a sad WIP Wednesday - I have NOTHING on the needles!! I am sort of itching to do another cardigan. Any suggestions?? I also like this pattern so I might figure out some yarn to get it started. I also have a test knit to do for a really cute top that the designer has made with our DK weight yarn so I guess I should get started on that first. I can't wait to share the pattern with you all - I love it!!

Kilts

All of us know what a kilt is right? And, we all know the story about what kilt wearers wear under their kilts, right? OK - stay with me here.

My husband, Mr. Knit Witch, has informed me that he will be going to Stitches South wearing a kilt. Ummm. OK. First of all - he does not own a kilt and he certainly knows better than to expect me to make one for him (anyone ever seen a pattern for a knitted kilt?). So, that would be the first obstacle and my first reason for laughing.

Secondly, and I think this point is obvious, WHY? Honestly. We aren't Scottish, we aren't Irish, we have never been to those places, he does not know how to play any bagpipes or any Irishy type instruments so again...........why?

I'm not sure I have received an answer to this. I'm not sure if the goal is to wear a kilt or to wear nothing under the kilt. Is it an attention-getter? Is is a conversation piece? Is it so he will "make it big" on Ravelry with a gazillion pictures of some random knitter and himself in a kilt? Is this to be Knit Witch's new logo?

So, he brings it up again this morning. He has brought this up several times so he must be somewhat serious. Again, I ask him why and he tells me, get this, that he thinks it is cool. Oh, and he wants to do it to be different and comfortable. So, there ya have it folks. At Stitches South there is a possibility that my husband will be super cool, be different AND be comfortable all at the same time.

Now, who's going to get in line to get that picture taken with him to be plastered all over Ravelry?

Shall I start a poll on this? Like - who here thinks Mr. Knit Witch should show up at Stitches South working our booth in a kilt? KateyJ - no need for you to comment - I already KNOW where you would stand on this issue!! :)

He sent me these pictures as if to prove to me that men in kilts are both super cool as well as humorous. Don't scroll down with your boss standing over your shoulder. I gotta admit - the first guy does look pretty cool, don't ya think?

SNOW!!!

Woot! We got lots of snow here over the past few days! Unfortunately though, the bad weather did delay our trip to Only Ewe and Cotton Too in Alpharetta. So, the new plan is for us to be there around noon this coming Thursday. If you will be in the area please stop by to visit!

Of course I have lots of good snow pictures for you and a couple of cute videos too. Goose has had such a fun time skating around on our pond which has seriously become an ice skating rink. Wayne even went out there and walked on it the other day (while he was holding on tightly to the dock!) even though The Weather Channel was begging people repeatedly not to do this!

Our creek.

Some of our woods.

Our pond and our neighbor's barn.

Our pond from the back side.


Our neighbor took this one of our house from her house. This was after the snow had already started melting.


We did manage to get out on Friday night to go to dinner with Molly (who owns Yarnside Gathering in Pensecola) and her husband. We had a blast even though we ended up ordering WAY too much sushi!! Molly's husband is in the military so the men folk has plenty of fun stuff to discuss. Thank goodness both of our trucks have 4 wheel drive though - it was kinda nasty out there!

Here's Goose with his gold medal ice skating routine. I have tried to keep him off the ice but he is just too excited about it.

Rocky?

Maybe that is his name. Check out who we saw wandering down our road the other day. In the middle of the day. Not a good sign. These guys aren't usually out just leisurely walking down the street in the middle of the day. Just in case, I brought in all the pets until this guy was gone.

In other news, I signed up for my first class for my doctoral program - YIKES! I read though all the information and started immediately thinking "What in the hell am I doing?!?!" I know it will be worth it in the end but it is going to be really hard giving up my "regular life" to go back to school. I just can't see wasting an opportunity to get most of my degree paid for so - I'm taking the plunge. I am already starting to freak out thinking about my dissertation. I want to do it around distance education for nursing programs but I haven't really figured it out exactly just yet. I need to do some research around what has already been done.

I also found out that I'll be teaching my first class at the University of Phoenix starting February 22nd. So, I have lots of fun stuff to look forward to!!

Tonight - we are having dinner with Molly and her husband since they are in town. If you don't know Molly - she is awesome! If you are ever in Pensacola you must visit her yarn shop - Yarnside Gathering. I am really looking forward to our dinner tonight! What's everyone else up to this weekend?

Have a great weekend!!!

Club Dragon Witch Update

OK - we did add an option to Club Dragon Witch for people to pay every other month for a small additional fee. I'm sorry we were slow on this but we just figured out how to do this thorugh Paypal. So, if anyone wants to join and was having difficulty doing so due to financial reasons now you have another option!

We apologize that it took so long for us to get this together but as this is our first time doing this club together we are really learning as we are going. Our main goal is to let as many people as possible in on the fun though so I hope this helps! You still have until Saturday to sign up!!

Quick link HERE.

A few things.......

We decided to extend the sign ups for Club Dragon Witch until January 9th. It didn't really make sense to end the sign up on a Thursday so there are a couple of days left for you to sign up! Sign ups will end at midnight on Saturday. I have seen our first sock design and I love it! Not too fussy but not too easy either - just enough to keep you interested and the pattern looks great! Our first "goodie" got shipped to us yesterday and I can't wait to see what they look like in person!!

I have also started talking about the June sock design with Cristi - aka turtlegirl76. It sounds like she is right on target for another great design and the yarn will be yummy!!!! She is also going to be adding another one of her famous goodies to the package so I am excited about that as well!

Also................drumroll please..........the 2010 signups are up for the Scalini's Dinner at Stitches South!!! Wooo hooo!!! You can sign up and find all the pertinent details HERE on Ravelry. Please be sure to sign up according to the post even if you have already let me know you are coming. I will be forming the list based on the replies to the post. We filled up pretty fast last year so if you are interested please sign up soon!! I am really looking forward to this event and seeing all of you there!

On Frozen Pond

Can you tell it is a little cold here???


Our pond is frozen solid. I would have a picture of Goose walking out on the ice but I was too busy freaking out and screaming at him to get off the ice to think about running for the camera. I took these after he vacated the frozen pond. He would be REALLY sorry if he fell in. It's pretty solid right now though but still.........I wouldn't want to chance him falling in. Yikes!

Look at our small pond too (Missy added for scale):

We went to get an aquarium heater for this one. Hopefully that will keep our fish from freezing! The temperature simply won't get above 32. I don't remember things being quite this frozen last year. I think the next time we will be above 32 will be on Friday!!

Bootstraps

Look!!

Mom's Blog

My mom put her sweater up on her own blog! :) I think she likes it!

My mom is a pretty amazing person. She suffered through lots of years of ridiculous family BS as a child and subsequently ended up in many foster homes where she was abused in many ways for many years. She is a success story though. She is a woman who has "pulled herself up by her bootstraps" and made the best of it and made positive changes in her life so that she did not bring that trash forward into her life - into my life.

She is strong. She knows what she wants and she goes after it with a passion. To meet her you would never know how much she has struggled with abuse, low self esteem and self-hate. You would never know how difficult it has been for her sometimes to just have the courage to wake up and face one more day. Nope - she is outgoing and vibrant and loving and caring and smart as hell.

She has really changed her life and along the way she has made an unfaltering effort to help other women in abused situations change their lives too. She has done lots of work for the Georgia Council on Child Abuse, regularly speaks about how people can change their lives and overcome victim thinking and has written books about how to STOP being a victim and get on with your life in a positive way. If you are interested - you can find the latest one on Amazon HERE.

I wish all kids would have such a positive and great role model for parents that I have had. They haven't always been perfect (seriously, have any of us been the perfect parent?) but they have always made positive changes in their lives and taught me to be the best person I can be and to go after my dreams and not worry about what other people think. I hope I have been able to pass on these same lessons to my own son. So far, so good!!! :)

A rare photo of my mom, dad, brother, son and myself all in the same picture!!

New Year's Resolutions

1. Go join the Club Dragon Witch sock club. The signups end on January 7th. We have a great crowd that has already joined up and we have some great goodies planned so be sure to join in the fun!!!

2. Check out the new yarn bowls we just uploaded onto the site.

3. If you are one of the designers for the club - don't forget to spread the word on your own blog!!

OK - so those resolutions are for you - not for me. I have already done those things!!

I'm not really one to set New Year's resolutions because I tend to set goals for myself all year round - though I don't necessarily write them down as my mother always so adamantly tells me to do! But, here are a few of my ongoing goals:

1. Start a doctoral program (I have already sent in my application and requested my transcripts so that one is well on it's way to being started)

2. Get to the gym at least 4 days a week (we are already pretty good about this but it is certainly one of my ongoing goals. It's so hard to go outside when it is SO DANG COLD!!!)

3. Make sure I take time during each week to just goof off with my husband and/or family. This is a big one for me. I tend to stay busy (which will be especially true once I become a student again and a teacher) so I need to always remember to make sure I plan some time to just relax whether it is at home or going out somewhere.

4. Work on our continuing list of home improvement projects. I made out our list of 2010 projects and wow - we still have a lot to do on this place! I really enjoy working on our house though and feel like I don't get the time to do it enough. Most of these projects have to be "Mr. Man driven" since he is the home improvement expert but I like to help him when I feel like I'm not totally in the way!

5. Work on continuing to grow Knit Witch. This one is always a fun goal! I would like to do a few more wholesale accounts this year so we'll see how that goes.

Well, I think all of that should keep me busy for a while, don't you?? What kind of goals do you have for the New Year??

Welcome 2010!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

My husband told me the other day that he thinks we are going to have a GREAT 2010! I must say that I agree with him. 2009 was really great and we accomplished a lot of wonderful things with each other, with our home and with our business - with the help from all of you out there of course!

2010 brings with it my 37th birthday (on the 24th), our 5th wedding anniversary (in April), Wayne's 59th birthday (in May) and Nathan's 21st birthday in December - wow! This year all of our kids will be completely legal adults. It also brings a new job for me (teaching nursing with the University of Phoenix) and quite probably a new venture into a doctoral degree. We'll see. I have also been talking with my mom and toying with the idea of writing a book - again - we'll see.

Of course, we also have more Knit Witch fun to look forward to! If Knit Witch grows as much in 2010 as it has in 2009 we are going to need to make some serious decisions about how we want to continue handling this business moving forward. We really love Knit Witch but we don't want it to be out of control busy so we may need to focus efforts or change the way we do some things. We'll see. Ultimately - you all will be the ones that help us to make those decisions!

Wayne and I may get married again in April - what do you think??? I think we will be at Stitches South for our anniversary so we may have to get married again at the Scalini's dinner!!! Haha!

That's another thing - I need to start planning the Scalini's dinner for Stitches South! We don't want to miss out on that fun again. I'll let you all know when sign-ups are available. It should be next week.