In Clover

Well, I fell off the 30 Lists wagon. Other things have been demanding my attention:

Meet Baby Dill, Clover, and Shiny Happy People, all in Atlantis Silk.

Chicago now has a new LYS, Windy Knitty, and it is open for business. She has a great selection of yarns...including mine! There is also Malabrigo, Cascade, Three Irish Girls, Sweet Georgia, and a whole lot of other fabulous lines.

I will be heading off for Sock Camp soon, and there is homework to be done. I think I know where I am headed on that front, but I've changed my mind a few times now, so we'll see. As always, I am looking forward to my trip to Seattle and Port Ludlow. Perhaps I'll get far enough this weekend to offer a few homework sneak peeks.

Coincidence?

So, while my French press of coffee and chicory was steeping, this is what I posted on Facebook:

"Wishing for warm days so I can knit and spin on the porch and hula hoop outside. I'm getting tired of the hoop bumping into the sofa."

Then, I popped over to the 30 Days of Lists blog to find that today's list is Wishes. Lucky me, I got a jump start!

1. Warm days for the reasons mentioned above.
2. Hoping my husband's weekend trip is less stressful than we anticipate it will be.
3. Hoping to build my business in creative ways. Wishing for inspiration to make it happen!
4. I wish for many more healthy days with my cat, Pitch.
5. Wishing for the opportunity to see as many friends as possible this year.
6. Still wishing for that Estonia trip to happen.
7. I'm hoping my friend's new LYS will be a rousing success--and she will sell lots of my yarn!
8. Hoping for a fab vacation with my husband that is just for us--no business, not knitting-related.

My Favorite Things

Today's list is favorite websites/blogs. Here goes:

• Amazon.com I shop there ALL THE TIME, though I feel guilty because some of the profits end up in the hands of political interests with which I do not agree.
• Sundance Catalog.com Yes, I want to live in that catalog. I want everything, almost.
• Peapod.com Online grocery shopping saves me $$ and keeps me from buying impulse items. I also get to avoid the annoyances of the Jewel. I still shop at a small, independent grocery for some items and am looking forward to the return of the Farmers Market.
• Posie Gets Cozy Her projects, be they knitting, crochet, embroidery, home improvement, cooking, or what have you, are so aesthetically pleasing. She does cute very, very well.
• Etsy 'Nuff said.
• Fryd + Design Short, sweet posts with delightful pics.
• Knitspot Anne Hanson is zooming to the top of my list of favorite designers. I also love her pics, and she is a great teacher.

There are others, too, but I've really pared down my blog reading. It all sort of fell apart during the Blogspot changeover, and I need to reorganize my blog reading mechanisms.

By the way, I added some additional colors of Atlantis Silk to the Etsy shop. Tarnished and Favorite Jeans went up yesterday, and Clover, Pistachio, I Didn't Wear White, A Touch of Envy, Shiny Happy People, and Baby Dill are coming today or tomorrow.

Bagged

What's in my bag? Well, I took a few things out of my purse and threw them in my knitting bag tonight, which has made this less dodgy.

• wallet
• keys
• two project bags in case I couldn't decide what I wanted to work on
• some tissues
• I thought there was lipstuff in there, but when I went digging for it, I was mistaken.

That's it. My purse is another story: 6 lipsticks. It goes downhill from there.

Playing Catch Up

I am behind on my weekend goals and behind on my lists.

Least Favorite Words

My high school friend, Jon Wurster, is the drummer for both Superchunk and The Mountain Goats. He is also a comedian who has been touted as one of the funniest Tweeters/Facebookers out in the Tweetisphere. He has a regular feature called WordHate, where he throws out one of his least favorite words, and hilarity often ensues. Here are a few of my least favorite words:

Squee (Knitters use this all the time, but I cannot abide it.)
Awsomesauce (Not a real word, but this one gets to me.)
Expresso (While a legit spelling & pronunciation, it always reminds me of the common mispronunciation of "expecially" for "especially." Ack.)

Blog Goals

Blog at least twice a week
Add more pictures
Be more entertaining
Activate the blog for Fleur de Fiber

Weekend Goals

1. Dye the skeins of yarn that are already soaking in the bucket.
2. Help my friend price her merchandise so that she can get her store open.
3. Clear off the dining room table.
4. Hang up the clothes that are in a pile upstairs.
5. Pick up the stitches to start the next section of my shawl.
6. Load Quickbooks on laptop and upgrade.
7. Get my yoga stuff together in prep for taking class Monday.
8. Reskein dry yarns and load them into etsy shop.

March Forth

After much ado, the shop is open!

This weekend I am instituting a no green dye zone! I would dye green after green if I could!

Today's List is "My Playlist."This has been the rotation as of late:

1. Whatever is on NPR. (Sadly, it's pledge week, so that limits things)
2. WXRT, Chicago's rock station. They play classic rock to new things. I like the morning DJs, but I usually don't listen that early.
3. Springsteen, always. I can listen to some albums (Greetings from Asbury Park, Darkness on the Edge of Town, Born to Run) every day. For others (Nebraska, The River, the non-E Street ones) I have to be in a particular mood.
4. Mumford & Sons, Little Lion Man
5. Podcasts (knitting related, The Moth)
6. David Sedaris, When You Are Engulfed in Flames

Jumping on a Bandwagon, Try Again

Okay, if you saw the post from yesterday, ignore it because it has been disappeared. I, apparently, cannot follow instructions.

So, I have decided to jump on the 30 Days of Lists bandwagon (after falling off once already.) Here goes:

#1 A Few Things About Me
Knitter
Dyer
Wife
Cat Person Who Also Loves Dogs
Shoe Enthusiast
Boot Collector
Bad Housekeeper
Good Cook
Former Professional Stage Manager
Former Executive Director of a Not-for-Profit Dance Company
Springsteen Fan

#2 Things I Am Good At
Cooking
Starting Projects
Writing Grants
Bargain Shopping
Finding Something I Have in Common with Almost Everyone I Meet

#3 Thing I Am Looking Forward To
Moving to Another Place When My Husband Retires (PNW, please)
Visiting Boston for the First Time in Forever
Having a New Kitchen
Warm Days on the Porch/Balcony
Walking By the Lake When it Isn't Freezing
Visiting Estonia
Many More Happy, Healthy Days with My Cat, Pitch
A Vacation with My Husband This Year

Soon, My Pretties

I know I have been yammering on about the dyeing forever. Some of you have been hearing about it for forever and a day. I promise that there will be yarn in the etsy shop next week, if not sooner.

This weekend I delivered a wholesale order to a new shop opening here in my neighborhood. I could not be more thrilled. The shop is going to be GORGEOUS. The owner has done a magnificent job, and has done it up right: nice, neutral fixtures, thoughtful space design, great lighting, and well-selected product lines. I am thrilled and honored that I get to be a part of it.

If you would like to be on Fleur de Fiber's notification list, head over to the etsy site and contact me and I will add you.