Crazy4Knitting

If anyone knows what “WOOT” is, then you will understand “The Dizzy Sheep“. I am completely addicted to checking it everyday. I want to buy something more often than not. Tuesday I bought some, and today I want to. I don’t know if I can help myself…..

Saw this on a random blog. The things I have done are in blue- I was surprised at how many I’ve done, and some important one’s I’ve missed, and some I will never do!

1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
Why isn’t there a #9?
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightening at sea
14. Taught myself art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing (indoor)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Rode an elephant

This past week I posted a few photos of my socks on sock blockers created by “Leggy Creations” on etsy. Several people asked me where I got them, so I went to her shop to check it out. The shop was there but had no stock, so I sent her a message through etsy telling her that my photos of her creations has caused a lot of interest. Today, I heard back from her telling me that her husband had died, and that she had gone back to work, and had no place to make the blockers at the moment.

My heart just about broke for her, and for the severed connection that we had made over the last few years through my socks and her blockers. So many of my firends today are on-line only. How can we keep those bonds of budding friendship alive when something happens in our life and on-line friends are not aware.

It’s been a while since I’ve written in this journal. I am not the best blogger, I guess. I’ve been trying to keep the crazy4dyeing blog just professional, but it has not been quite so successful. I will move over the pictures of Hawaii to this location, and try to keep my internal promise to myself. I am also planning on re-linking this blog to my Ravelry profile, since two links are not possible. I am not always the crazy4dyeing Ellie, and that’s what this blog is about.
K called us from Chicago last week, and put our grandson, M ( will be 4 in June) on the phone, and said: “I am going to be a big brother!” Needless to say, the news was greeted with great joy and happiness by all of us. K is my step-son. I’ve been married to his dad for almost 26 years, and K was only 6 when we got married. At the time, I knew nothing about being a mother. My birth mother died in childbirth when my brother was born, and then he married a few years later, so I had a stepmother, who clearly had very mixed feeling for my brother and I, sometimes it was love and sometimes it was hate, sometimes it was both. Anyway, that was the atmosphere where I learned about parenting. Not much in the way of good examples where witnessed. So when K would come to visit us, I was more like the wicked stepmother than the Fairy Godmother, and it wasn’t until I had my own first child that I understood the kind of love one feels for a child, and became more of a human being to K. Somehow, we have managed a loving relationship over the years, and he treats me with the utmost respect and love, which I don’t really deserve. I guess he doesn’t remember what an awful person I once was. That all just came out, so sorry for being maudlin.
Knitting is being planned for our new grandchild, and I will try to become more productive since I am on a two week hiatus from my current assignment. Since I am an Independent consultant ( a job that supports my fiber habits) it will be great fun to have two weeks with no obligations except my own.
Yesterday was Valentine’s Day, and G gave me the most beautiful bouget of flowers, and he deliverd them in a secret fashion so that I was quite surprised when I saw them. Lately I’ve been secretly resenting taking care of everyone, cooking, cleaning etc. but the reason I do that is not because I have to but because I love them, and that reason sometimes get lost in the day to day obligations that have become our daily habits. So it was a good time to reflect on life in general, I guess that’s where all these words are pouring out from. I am a very lucky person, I have a wonderful life and I am greatful that I have a family that loves me, and whom I love. Not everyone is so lucky.

I am not such a good blogger! I wish you all Happy Valentine’s Day, and to celebrate there is a special 15% discount coupon LOVE09 for you to use in the shop until the end of February!

Whew! Just finished a major shop update today. I added two new base yarns:

1) BrawnySock- a new merino/nylon blend that knits up very soft. I am working on a pair of Monkeys that I should finish tomorrow. I will post them as soon as they are done, and (Update-well I didn’t get these finished until February, but still in time for the recipients’ birthday!)

2) LuxeSock- a very nice luxury bled of merino,cashmere and nylon- I might steal the red colorway if no one else snags it soon! Also several more colorways of Leprechaun Lace and JollySock,

It snowed here today- for the first time this season, and as I worked I could see the snow peacefully falling. It made the work go quickly,. I hope you find something you like, and remember 20% off all yarn during the month of January!

We are back from vacation and trying to catch up on the sleep we lost with the time change of +5 hours from Hawaii. It was a wonderful family vacation that included my sister and her family who joined us from California and my daughter’s best friend Thomas to help us celebrate Katie’s 21st birthday.

So there were nine of us in two condos at two nearby Hilton timeshare resorts in Waikoloa on the Kona side of Hawaii. On Katie’s birthday we treated her with a Para sailing surprise for her and Thomas. Dan, Gerry and I remained in the boat, and had the much bumpier ride. Gerry and Dan took lots of pictures. Later that day, Tree and her family arrived, and the birthday celebration began in earnest. Dan and I put together a birthday dinner of shrimp and fresh tomato pasta (not an easy accomplishment without the cooking utensils of home) and we toasted Katie with some fine wines and other concoctions! The Village market in Waikoloa produced an amazingly delicious chocolate marshmallow cake and we started our multi-day 12/12 (we found them at WalMart) Dominoes tournament.

Since Gerry and I have been to the Big Island before (twice before to be exact-without the kids who were away at school when we went) , we led the others on a few expeditions to see the lava flowing outside Volcano National Park, some beautiful beaches at Hapuna State Park, the coffee farms of Kona and to the top of Mauna Kea, where Katie left her cell phone behind by accident. That wasn’t the only accident though – as we were packing the cars to leave Dan accidently drove over my carry-on bag which held my Blackberry (now crushed), my current sock project ( Green Monkey socks on KnitPick needles (broken into a million pieces), my cell phone (survived intact) and my Ipod (also survived intact). By some stroke of genious I had insured the Blackberry so a new one is on its way to me as I write for a minimal cost. And by some small miracle, the needles that broke into a million pieces were all attached to the same cord, and the other needle was not harmed, so I changed it out before we left and I happily knitted my way to San Francisco, where we changed planes. I had to replace Katie’s phone on Sunday when we returned since she had to drive back to school that afternoon.

I did manage to complete one pair of socks while there, a pair of my Serendipity pattern socks- which went out to last years’ Crazy4Seasons sock club, and will be published in Charlene Schurch and Beth Parrott’s new book featuring patterns sent out to Sock Club members. I needed to provide a larger size so this pair was a test knit on larger needles with heavier yarn (ZestySock) to accomodate ankles like mine! Will add those pictures later today also.

All in all, we had an amazing time, and we will do it again I hope next year. I will post pictures a little later today, when Dan and Gerry have had time to process them all. Since Katie, Gerry and Dan (the pro photographer) all carried an assortment of photo equipment, I left my little camera at home in my little yarn photo studio, so I am at their mercy with the photos.

I did manage to skein up a few dyed skeins while trying to stay awake last night, and will post them later today at Crazy4Dyeing.com. But go over and checkout the Back from Vacation Sale. All yarn 20% off for the entire month of January!

We’ll be leaving for Hawaii on January 1, and returning on January 12, 2009. We’re having a family celebration in honor of my daughter’s 21st birthday. We’ll be joined by my sister and her family and Katie’s best friend, Thomas. So we will have a wonderful time!

Any orders placed in the meantime will be fulfilled on January 12.

Have a Happy and safe New Year, and thanks to all of you for being wonderful customers and friends throughout the past year.

Ellie

I finally added the Aran weight yarn! Yeah for me…seriously, my camera had a few issues, but they’re fixed now, and I’ve posted six colorways of this wonderful soft superwash Aran Weight yarn in the Worsted section of the website. I am just finishing up a scarf for my daughter, with what left of my test skeins, in addition to a very long pair of mittens and a hat. All from just two skeins. One skein will easily make a normal sized pair of mittens and a hat. More base yarn is on its way!

Alos, the shop will be closed from January 1-January 11 as the family is winging our way to Hawaii for a New Year vacation with my sister and her family from California. SO orders may be placed but will not ship until January 12, 2009.

Have a wonderful Christmas and a ver happy New Year.

Ellie

The redesigned web shop is now open for business. I redesigned the site entirely, so there is a new look, new software, new security, new payment methods and most important new yarn!!! I did a lot of the work myself, but the logo design is from SunandPenny from Etsy, I got some help from Matthew Therrien of ZenCart Consulting, and I am so pleased to be able to have a site that I love the way it looks, is scalable and so easy to use. I hope that you will come by and take a look around at all that’s new.