Happy New Year!

Just wanted to take a minute to wish each and everyone of you a very healthy, happy, and peaceful New Year 2009.

Christmas was glorious, as always and I wanted to show off this wreath that Crafty Cheryl made for me.

The best thing of all, Island Girl, Orange Boy and I have purchased webcams. We can now begin to see each other whilst conversing and it works great! Test drive was last night with IG. I am soooo excited.

Have a fiber fun filled new year's...

Ho ho holidays ...

Ho Ho Holidays to you all! It's that time of year that I want to wish each and every one of you that celebrate this great time of year a splendid holiday.

Do you still lack that special gift for that one person on your list that just doesn't *need* anything? Here's a gift suggestion. Give a donation to their favorite cause; whether it be an animal shelter, children's hospital, or even a hospice center. Then give them a card telling them of your donation. I promise it will bring a smile to their face and heart.

I leave with you with a picture of some great turtles I made today. Pretzels, Rolo candies and a pecan. Speaking of "pecan", do you say pee-can or pi-kahn? I say pee-can...

Orange Boy and Cheryl will be here Wednesday for several days - then I go to Cheryl's hometown for a baby shower. Can't wait. So Happy New year... just in case...

Wow, where has time gone?

I just realized I have not blogged in quite some time and thank you my dear Cheryl, for taking up the slack! I love looking at the pictures of my little grandbaby's room - whose ETA is February 18, 2009!

Where have I been? Busy, like so many of you. You guys have been shopping like crazy and I am trying to keep up with your orders. That is not a complaint but a Thank you! Some of you have written they are gifts for others and some are shopping for themselves. Hey, nothing wrong with that...

About 2 weeks ago, I drove up to north Georgia to visit an apple farm. They had some Stayman Winesaps and Fuji apples that looked delightful. I bought 3 - 1/2 bushels - came home and put up about 8 gallon size

freezer bags of apples pie mix and 14 pints of applesauce. These apples were so sweet that I used no sugar at all in either the pie stuff or the applesauce.

I use my great grandmother's apple grinder that was passed right on down to me. The wooden "oar" is thinned out from so much use but I treasure it. However, if I am making slightly chunky sauce, I just use a tater masher.

Not only that, but I have been very busy ordering new yarns and goodies for the shop. Hope your holiday season is going great.

Stash Buster- Bath Poofs

While searching for quick but cool Christmas gifts to knit, I discovered this pattern for a "bonbon", or bath poof. I used a skein of Mango Moon I've had for quite a while, and big needles- size 15, my FAVORITE! Instead of just knitting straight, I did a little feather and fan action to make it a little more jazzy. It only took an hour and I used it in the shower last night. Unfortunately, the Mango Moon wasn't the best choice of yarn, as it lacks necessary scrubbing action needed to make a good bubbly lather. I have some bamboo and some nettle I'm going to try next, or there's always good old fashioned cotton!

The crib is up!

We're still plugging away at the nursery every weekend. The crib came on Friday and Chris put it together that night. AND he only said 2 curse words the whole time! Next task: spray wheel and anchor white and finish curtains.

Nesting

Hello everyone! Sorry its been FOREVER since I've written, but its been crazy times here in Huntsville.

After enjoying a decadent Thanksgiving dinner (in our pajamas) Chris and I painted the nursery (well, I didn't actually DO the painting...I supervised). Our theme is sailboats/little nautical cutie pie baby

Here's a picture of the partially assembled crib and the painted walls. We are getting so excited! We got a anchor and ships steering wheel at Hobby Lobby (50% off thank you very much) and I got awesome fabric for the curtains on sale at Hancock on Saturday and I'll be stitching away all week!

Happy Thanksgiving! ... and Black Friday

I just wanted to take a minute to say Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate it. I have so many things to be thankful for and among those I certainly count my great customers, friends and family. Thank you all and stop by The Yarn Grove on Black Friday for a sale!

Zuma Bags and Mini Cozies

Just in to The Yarn Grove, the brand new Namaste Zuma Bags and mini Cozies. In all the delectable colors that Namaste offers. The mini Cozy is Animal-friendly faux leather
and measures 2 3/4" W x 8.5" H x 1/4" D . Perfect for DPNs and crochet hooks.

The Zuma bag is Animal-Friendly faux leather and measures 9.5" W x 11" H x 17" L 10" (length at the base) Handle Length: 10" (top of bag to top of handle). This bag opens wide and the interior features 3 pockets (1 zipper pocket and 2 open-top pockets). The front pocket boasts an accordian-style design for multi-compartment. Great for gifts and you will have to have one for yourself!

I'm off to the Rocket City to see Orange Boy and Cheryl. I'm going to Cheryl's first baby shower and I couldn't be more excited. I made a trip to Trader Joe's for them and also taking homemade veggie soup and taco soup (no meat). Delicious!

Have a fabulous fiber filled weekend!

Phyllis, you're a sweetheart...

My friend Phyllis, blogger of Knit and Purr, whom I met at Noble Knitters, went all sweet on me. Well, not that she wasn't always that way, Phyllis is a sweetheart. She bought me a skein of Wollmeise from the Ravelry group: Completely Pointless and Arbitrary Group under their RAK 4 Angels Swap. I'm not feeling too angelic but apparently Phyllis thought I was... Thank you my friend! I will think of you everytime I pet my skein of Wollmeise. It is gorgeous. The colorway is Versuchskaninchen1. She bought it from a Ravelry lady in Germany. I will be thinking of a special project for this yarn. Talk about making my day. Not only did a beautiful skein of Wollmeise arrive but also little German teabags, wafer cookies and treats! Wow, I feel special all because of you, Phyllis ...

Some shop news ... scheduled to arrive this week, the ever fabulous brand new Zuma bag from Namaste. More on that later...

I broke my own rule...

I broke my own rule about knitting socks - I always start one, finish the toe, start another one and work on them simultaneously. Well as I was gearing up for my out of town adventure, I grabbed this Lorna's Laces Sport weight sock yarn in Aslan and away I went. I have made a lot of progress on it - mostly while on planes, my usual: turkish caston, toe up, and then I am knitting a 3/2 rib. Very stretchy and I love them. These will be for me!

I hit the ground running when I got home Sunday evening. You guys did lots of shopping whilst the shipping department was away and thank you all! Don't you just love the Debra's Garden Needle gauges ? I know many of you do. Whether for yourself or a knittin' friend, you will love these high quality tools...

While I was gone, my mother went on a whirlwind trip as well and had a problem with her vision - visited a local doctor where she was and found out she has Macular Degeneration in both eyes, one worse than the other. She was devastated to say the least but we are now hitting it head on. While there is absolutely no cure for it, there are treatments in the eye that can (hopefully) slow the progression. 3 things she loves at this age of 82 - reading, playing cards and knitting... So I am keeping positive thoughts about these treatments.

Anywho, The Yarn Grove is busy gearing up for the holiday season and hope you all are too.

Debra's Garden goodies...

Just a reminder that I'm outta here so what that means for you is any orders placed November 1 through November 9 will not be shipped until Monday, November 10th, 2008. But The Yarn Grove will remain open for your shopping pleasure.

Speaking of shopping pleasure, just in to The Yarn Grove are Debra's Garden Needle Gauge pendants. They are so useful and make great gifts. They come with a small ring which you can slip a chain through for a necklace, attach to a key ring or what I am doing, attach to my knitting bag since I can never find my other one. They are small -- 1-1/2" x 1-1/4" is as beautiful as it is accurate. US goes from 0 - 17. The numbers on the gauge are lasered in so there is no paint to wear off. It is made of anodized aluminum, which is light weight, strong and colorfast. Many colors to choose from and they are shipped in a small organza drawstring bag for even more cuteness.

There is a special pink one and Debra of Debra's Garden is matching the additional $1 cost for a $2 donation per sale of the pink pendant to donate to the Susan G Komen Foundation for a Cure in honor of breast cancer awareness.

Happy Halloween to all and have a safe and fun fiber filled week...

Some feet treats ...

I'd like to show off a pair of socks, no *not* knit by me, but by Diana's sister, Debbie in VA. Diana bought this gawgeous skein of Stitchjones in the Tai Chi colorway and mailed it to Debbie, who in turn made these gawgeous socks. Debbie, thanks so much for sharing these! Diana and I are both waiting to see Debbie's Dumbledore socks... BTW, if you want to read an entertaining blog, check out Diana's blog: Woofgang Pug Knits .

Tonight is knit night but alas, I will not be going. I am having a girl's night out with some non-knitting friends. We were all together at a wedding a few weeks ago and decided to strike up our bi-monthly meetups. What I really need to be doing is packing since I am leaving soon for 9 days ...

Packing can wait, fun with friends cannot...

I'll take mustard with those...

I just wanted to show off *again* some great sample socks my long time buddy, Paula, made for us for a show. These are the Mustard colorway from Louet in the Gems Fingering weight. Paula loves this yarn. Actually, I have never met a yarn Paula didn't like. She can turn out some socks. Amazing...

In other news, we are continuously getting in needles from Hiya Hiya. I am currently testing another size for us - in between 9" and 16". Any thoughts on those 2 sizes - 11or12", drop me an email at janeATtheyarngrove.com?

Just a reminder - the shop will remain open but no shipping will occur from November 1st through November 9. Shipping will resume on Monday, Nov. 10. More on that later...

And just because I haven't shown a pic of my 2 babies in a long time, here is a recent photo of Shorty (left) and Junior(right). They always make me smile.

Have a great fiber filled weekend!

Happy Birthday Cheryl!

Happy Birthday to my precious Cheryl! You are one much loved and a special super mommy to be. Enjoy your day ... Here is a photo of her that Orange Boy sent to me!

Picky Pants - Done...

My first pair of Picky Pants, done! Well, they're for my soon to be grandbaby boy, Stephen.

To recap, Lorna's Laces Worsted Weight in Envy colorway and the pattern was so detailed and I absolutely loved it. Can't wait to cast on another pair! And I love saying "Picky Pants".

Just made 2 new cakes of yarn which I will cast on for a new project tonight... They will be a gift for a special friend...

Itty Bitty Hat

Hope your week has been filled with lots of fiber! Mine has and I am working on a pair of Picky Pants that is such a fun knit. It is a pattern from Little Turtle Knits and the directions are so clear and precise for several different sizes. This pair should fit up to a 12 pound baby, over cloth diapers. I will show a picture of them early next week (or before if I get finished). I am knitting them out of Lorna's Laces Worsted weight, Envy colorway.

I did finish a little hat for my soon to be grandbaby to match his baby surprise jacket which was Lorna's Laces Sport Weight yarn in the Devon colorway. This was a free pattern from Just Jussi who has adorable patterns.

It is finally raining today - a nice steady rain and the temperature will hopefully start droppin' just a tad. Hope your weekend is a marvelous one!

Some house picks

Here are some pictures of what we have done in the new house:

This is the dining room. I got the curtains at a glorious place called Old Time Pottery. I knew that if I tried to sew curtains for the entire house PLUS baby bedding PLUS a maternity bridesmaids dress for a wedding in November, that I would never sleep again. SO for $10 a panel, the curtains became mine! Oh also, I installed the curtain rod all by myself. Including dry wall anchors! Amazing, huh?

Here's a closeup of Mona's kitty window seat that Chris made for her. We call this window the "TV." Mona loves her perch- You can see that she just woke up.

Chris enjoys yardwork (a little too much judging by this picture)

Here's the kitchen. Please note the yellow countertops. The floor and walls are also all yellow. That is want prompted the wallpaper. There isn't much you can do with yellow countertops other than go with it.

Here is the bedroom. Chris painted before we moved in, thank goodness- the color is called "Airy." Isn't it peaceful? We just need to hang some stuff on those bare walls!

The nursery and the craft room are still completely messy. We are slowly working away...

Baby Surprise... done!

My first ever Baby Surprise Jacket. Already I know that I will be making more. This was truly a fun knit. I decided when I finished that I did not want 5 buttons on it, so I did try to cinch up the buttonholes, a bit. But alas, I can still see them. Also, I will do a different increase stitch next time and be a bit more careful when picking up stitches. But all in all, I am pleased with it and I know that Stephen will love it. I am currently working on a matching hat. That should be something I can work on at Noble Knitters tonight without too much concentration... To recap: Yarn used Lorna's Laces Sport in the Devon Colorway and Hiya Hiya 24" Circs Bamboo in a US 3.



Wow, the Harry Potter yarn has been extremely popular and no wonder. Opal is a great sock yarn and fun to knit and watch the patterns evolve.

Also just refreshed at The Yarn Grove - more Nature's Palette fingering weight and of course, Hiya Hiya needles in a multitude of popular sizes... Hope your days include lots of fiber!

Its a...

BOY!!! Little Stephen Renwick was kind enough to give us a full spread eagle shot of his privates right away! We are beyond thrilled. I haven't gotten any work done today, I've just been sitting here dreaming about tee-ball and tiny sneakers and little bowties on easter morning and this jacket from Baby Gap. I also picked out my first knitting project from ravelry. I guess I did do something at work today!

Hat in a weekend

I whipped this hat up for a friend's birthday a few weekends ago. Sweet Scott- Spottie's FAVORITE uncle and the world's nicest guy. I used 2 Lorna's Laces colors from my (out of control) stash. It was fun to knit and only took a Saturday- I used my Turbos, which give me super powers and lightning fast speed.

Other than that, I really haven't been knitting much. We moved into our new house 3 weeks ago, so I've been spending most my time shopping for or making curtains, installing curtain rods- oh yes, all by myself- telling Chris where to hang art work and unpacking. Not to mention working full time and sleeping as much as possible. We find out tomrrow if we are having a boy or a girl, so soon nursery preparations will commence! If its a boy, I'm going to do a nautical/sailboat room, and if its a girl, I'm going to do a pink and green garden with little birds and bugs and flowers. I've been secretly shopping online for fabric in my spare time at work. Shhh, don't tell!

We've already started to receive gifts and hand me downs. We got an almost brand new swing, a basinette, 12 bottles and a sterilizer, a sleep positioner, a travel swing and lots of cute toys from the Bruno/Miller/Lamandola clan. Gammaw sent us a sample pack of cloth diapers. My favorite is the Bum Genius 3.0 One Size Pocket Diaper- doesn't that sound high tech! Its the cutest little thing you've ever seen too.

I'll let you what we see tomorrow on the untrasound!!!

Harry Potter Sock Yarn ... It's Here!

Harry Potter Sock Yarn is here at The Yarn Grove. While we only got about 40% of our initial order due to the Tutto Factory floods in Germany, we will be receiving the balance of our initial shop order soon.

So who is your favorite character? There is Harry, Dumbledore, Draco, Ron, and more. Just in time to make some great gifts for that special HP fan in your life ... or for yourself.

Surprises for me today...

I have had a morning full of surprises! To begin, I had to take hubby's glasses to him at the shop and whilst I was out, passed 4 gas stations ... no gas. Oh boy, now I am getting a little antsy. For those of you who do not know, there is a "gas shortage" in the Atlanta area and yes, people have panicked. The lines at the gas stations *who* have gas, can be upwards of up to 2 hours wait. But hubby tells me that the local wholesale club was pumping gas this morning on his way to work. Surprise 1: I went there on my way home and was in and out in less than 7 minutes! Just like normal! Wow. I felt lucky.

Surprise 2: Stopped by Publix grocery store to pick up a couple of items and they have a "penny coupon" each Sunday and Monday. Sometimes I just don't make it there on either of those days but today I did and the penny was a jar of peanut butter.

Surprise 3: They also have some great BOGO (buy one get one frees) most weeks and my Publix lets you buy just one of those BOGO's for 1/2 off. So they had a 4-pack of bagels for $1.00 and my bag actually had 5 bagels in it! Someone lost count, I guess.

Surprise 4: Speaking of lost count, I give you a photo of my Baby Surprise jacket and I must say, it has been a real fun project but also very challenging. I have joined the BSJ group on Ravelry and have found some great hints and help on there... I am knitting it up in Lorna's Laces Sport weight, the Devon colorway.

Surprise 5: Yet to be announced this week. Baby Bruno will hopefully reveal him/herself on Thursday, Oct. 2nd to let Gammaw know what color buttons to put on the BSJ. I have changed my mind twice. First I said girl, then I dreamed boy, but when I saw Cheryl last weekend, I said without a doubt in my mind, a girl.

Have any of you done the Baby Surprise Jacket? If so, did you have any problems with it?

Stash buster!

Check out these cool instructions for making wool dryer balls from your yarn stash!

It's Here - Go get a copy!

I am *so* excited about Kay and Ann's new book, Mason - Dixon , Knitting Outside the Lines. I love these gals - they always make me laugh. My new book arrived and I couldn't be more excited. Go... get a copy... today!

Why the 'mater in the picture? Sadly, I think it might be one of the last ones I pick this year...

A pack of pickles...

Looks like all I have been doing is packing pickles but actually, I have been knitting somewhat. Some cute washcloths - my mom has been busy knittin' them up for her up and coming great grandchild. wow. I can't believe my mom will be a ggmaw... I bought her a book of baby washcloths and I know she already gave Orange Boy and Cheryl a couple and is still working on them. She is really enjoying them.

Still working on Casablanca - ever so slowly - things have been really hopping around here. But I did start a Baby Surprise jacket in the Devon Colorway from Lorna's Laces. I say I started it - I mean I cast on for it a couple of nights ago. Does that count? I do have some lovely bread and butter pickles put up - about 13 pints. Yummmm...

Some HB and HP...

Fall is certainly on its way and for me, it is one of my favorite seasons. Already many of you I see on Ravelry on counting down til the holidays. Which brings me to the HB in my title. Hairbands... We have put together kits for covering your own hairbands. In this fun kit you will get 2 toothless hairbands, one 7/8" wide and one 1/4" wide, 3 mini skeins of yarn, a retractable mini tape measure (color will vary), and a pattern all inside of a reuseable square vinyl pouch. These are fun to wear and I have gotten many compliments on mine!

Now for the HP! Many of you can already guess that yes, it is the much anticipated release of the Harry Potter sock yarn from Opal. I received word this week that I can expect our order to ship towards the end of September. So be on the lookout for that.

We are now carrying HeartStrings patterns so check those out. I have my eye on a couple...

I got to see Orange Boy and Cheryl this past weekend and my little grandbaby is showing him/herself quite nicely! We are all anticipating the October 1 so I will know whether to knit more blue or pink...

What is your favorite season?

Gifts for Baby

I can't believe all the cute things we're already getting!
Here's a bib from Gammaw. What is this pattern?? Its adorable!
Here's some Baby Bling from my incredible fabulous friend, Kate.And here are some penguin booties...which I'm sorry to say, don't come in my size. I think its safe to say we will have a very well dressed baby!

Bring on the Fall!

Football season officially starts next weekend, which means knitting season also starts! Don't get me wrong, I like football and everything, but when its all your husband watches for 5 months, you need a little distraction! He watches, I knit. We coinside perfectly! And win or lose, at the end of every weekend, I have a fabulous project to show for it.

Last night, in preparation for kickoff, Orange boy and I boiled 2.5 pounds of peanuts and blanched and peeled 14 tomatoes from the garden for salsa. We're well on our way to stocking our freezer with a season's worth of football food!

As far as knitting goes, I'm working on socks (gasp!!) a few scarves that will be christmas presents, and I'm hoping to start another quilt soon.

September is only 9 days away!!! Beef up your stashes boys and girls- its going to be a long winter!!!!

Fun, fast gift idea...

I have been wanting to make this dust glove for a long while. These are fun, fast to make and make me smile. I mean, how much more fun can dusting be with one of these! Complete with its own bling... Here's how I made it...

Went to do$$ar store and found these knit gloves. I was actually looking for the standard muslin kind but how appropriate are these being that they are knitted.

Wrap yarn around cardboard at about 5-1/2 to 6" long for about 16 wraps. Place on the glove and take a length of yarn to secure down on the glove, tying the bundle in half. I used a Chibi needle. So easy.. Repeat until you have it as full as you would like. I used an entire ball of Peaches n Creme yarn but I am gathering all my remaining scraps to make a really colorful one.

As for the fingernails, I took Sticky Felt from the hobby store and drew on the paper side, cut them out and stuck them on the front. You don't have to give it a "ring" but I sewed some beads on. My next one is also going to have a bracelet...

These are fun and a great way to use of scraps...