Insubordiknit

Triangular ribbed highway

Tiny triangular pops of vertical ribbing. It's like a zig zag of highway lanes stretching out before me and my needles. I love it. I've named this year -- year of the sock! But I was a bit bored with knitting the same old stockinette socks so when the cat lady offered to trade a book I've been wanting for quite some time, for a bit of handspun, I jumped (up and down). And check those cool earrings, too.

But the socks, the year of the socks, back to that. Since I've like a million newly donated skeins of sock yarn, and a super fly sock knitting book, I'm going to knit every sock in the book, starting with the first. Well, that's not totally true, the first 3 are plain ribbed socks with I'm not counting (hell, Bush doesn't even count them, they aren't even listed in the table of contents as patterns).

The first sock, the one you see laid out like a highway of triangular ribbed chocolate, is call mens shooting stockings, and I can't wait to go out shooting with men while I wear them. The crazy amazing yarn is fleece artist.

I'm really enjoying knitting these chocolate beauties. I've missed knitting. I haven't done much since Sweetpea was born, but now that I've figured out how to knit and nurse, my mind is a bit more settled, my shoulders a bit lower, and my feet soon to be a bit warmer.

Last call for wool

Starting to look like a yard sale blog around here, last for sale entry for a while, promise. I have a few lbs of the cream wool left and decided since it went over so well and since I spent the day dying my new wool, that I'd make room for it by selling some of that same cream wool, but dyed. sister. I used lanaset acid dyes and they're all quite beautiful, don't let the prices fool ya! I just want to get them to someone who wants to spin them. Again -- this is not a new thing for me! I will not be regularly selling my hand dyed wool, it take too long for me to slave over a hot stove to sell it, plus, I love having all the dyed bits around! So don't expect this again! Oh, and my favorite of my colorways is in there -- plumsmasher!

anyway, here it is.

And for those of you who come for the rockin' kid pictures, check this one out! He's a regular Bert (mary poppins, y'all), complete with kazoo and guitar.

For those of you who come for the knitting (yeah, right, like there's any of those left), next entry will have knitting! I have it all planned...

Wool for sale

Ack. No shop update this week. Bill's been gone and it's been all I can do to keep myself and the 2 fed and entertained, spinning took a back seat, heck, a hatch seat. I did get some done but I had to fill a couple of shop orders so my shop will wait until next sunday.

However, I've got something else, but it's for spinners more than knitters. Do any spinners read this thing? Let me say first that I am not going to start selling wool. Nope, absolutely not. This is a one shot deal. I happen to have some wool that I don't like as much as some other wool I have, and so I'd like to sell it to someone that will like it lots. It's actually kind of strange. There seems to be no difference in the wool, except to me, and only when I'm spinning it. Both bill and I have looked, peered, rubbed, etc and can find no discernible difference, however when I spin it, it feels different to me (but not to anyone else). And my mom just bought me a whole load of wonderful new wool, so...I'm selling the 10 lbs of the old stuff, if anyone wants it, check out the listing in the shop. I'm selling it cheaper than cost because I'd rather it get spun than just sit around and mope in my studio.

I don't know if anyone else cares about this type of thing, but it is from a humane, no kill farm and it's been combed into top for spinning ease (i like to have some of my fiber combed, some of it carded by me, and some of it raw).

It's listed here!

Cheap blogging

I know, I know, it's a cheap way to blog, but Bill's out playing rock this week and it's just me and the lil 'uns, so forgive my cheapness.

Below are a few of the giftees that arrived for Sweetpea since her birth (9 weeks old btw). There's a sweet fish blanket (and pillow), a rockin halter, a cute as pie aviator bonnet (from Shannon, the hottest fake leather pants, and the sweetest pink frog button outfit. Thanks everyone!

And the cheep just keeps on coming...all new on the insubordiknit blog, no text, all pictures! A swap gone good, I sent a hank of purple eater and Kat sent me this great fiber and some of her own great yarn!

I recently did another fantastic trade but I've got a post planned to go along with the pic and it'll include knitting!

Oh, one more thing. I use a leopard rosado sling to haul the little one around but the weather is starting to warm up and the shoulder is starting to wear down. I think I need a second so that the wear on my body is varied. Anyone have any advice on a warm weather sling?

Winners!

The winner of the raffle for the free spot in the artyarn club is...

number 255! -- knitters not quitters

woohoo!

and the winner for the free monster hat knit kit is...

number 450!

woohoo!

so, if those are your numbers, e-mail me!

and for those of you lacking the winning numbers, I'll be doing this again, don't worry!

3.5 hours left!

Only 3.5 more hours until the raffle drawing and the yarn club membership spots go on sale! I'm getting excited to see who wins the raffle! There's 400 raffle numbers floating around out there! If it hits 450 I'll give the 450th ticket holder a free monster hat kit, if it doesn't hit 450, I'll draw a second raffle ticket number and give that person a free monster hat kit!

Stay tuned!

Raffle update/rubbed dusty

Oh, Quick before I'm couch bound and mound exposed (a stretched expression for breastfeeding for the sake of a rhyme, jeez I'm desperate). Only 2 days remain until the raffle drawing! Have you bought your ticket yet? Lots of people have! It's very exciting. With each new ticket I get excited to see who will win.

Anyway, raffle tickets can be purchased until 6pm eastern on Sunday, the 15th. For those of you wanting spots in the club other than the raffle-y one, have your mouse buttons ready, I've already gotten e-mails from people requesting spots that number more than allotted, and I hold a spot for no knitter, fair girl that I am.

And to go along with it, a new update day -- Sundays. I like to switch it up occasionally to minimize the e-mails exclaiming friday as a work night, or a date night, or whatever and so yarns are missed, sadly. So Sunday, and I've got a load.

And since my knitting has been so slow, given the mound exposing, my next post (besides the raffle-drawing) is going to be about my last career, as a woodworker/massage therapist, because people loved to be rubbed by a sawdusty tattooed anarchist!

Raffle and artyarn club

What a good idea, vdasher and jennifer! I'm totally going to do a Insubordiknit artyarn club! I really hadn't ever considered it. I was recently a part of Scout's club and it was so very exciting and I loved each month, you'd have thought it'd strike me to have one myself. And now I will. And a raffle (for why, see previous entry). And a pony. Okay, not really a pony, but the rest -- yes!

THE CLUB:
will be for 3 months and there will be 10 spots (11 counting the raffle spot) available. Each month, for 3 months, each member will receive one hank of insubordiknit handspun art yarn. One month it'll be a Monster Hat kit, the other 2 months it'll just be cool with yardage between 85 and 130 yards (depending on complexity and bulkiness) and weight between 4-6 oz (which is about what fits on my big ole bobbin). Members of the club will fill out (if they wish) a very short short short set of questions regarding colors etc to ensure maximum yarngasms.

THE PRICE:
The price for each slot will be $100.00, it includes shipping (unless your out of the USA, in that case, e-mail me and we'll figure it out). That's at least a 30% discount off of what they'd be if you were to buy the yarns from my shop. The 10 slots will go on sale Sunday, April 15th at 8pm.

THE RAFFLE:
The raffle is for the 11th spot, if you win the raffle you'll get all three months of insubordiknit artyarn FREE (minus the price of your raffle ticket(s), of course) When you buy a raffle ticket for the 11th spot, I'll send you your raffle number(s) through e-mail. On Sunday, the 15th of this month (april) at 8 pm eastern time I'll randomly generate the number, post it and then open up the 10 spots to be bought (they'll be listed in the shop). The first month of yarns will be sent out Mid-May, then Mid-June, and Mid-July.

So please, spread the word! Tell your fiber friends! Tell your loved ones (if you'd like it as a super cool present)! Tell your bus driver and your baker! I'm excited, I hope at least 10 of you are as well!

Raffle or vain arsehat?

Before I started spinning, I couldn't afford handspun, so I've known the pain, really. In fact, I still can't afford handspun, except my own, so I guess I still know the pain. And so I started the swapping section of my shop, and it's gone over swell and I've really enjoyed all the cool swag I've been getting in exchange. I love the barter system. However, it's come to my attention that there are those that would like to partake of handspunny goodness but don't have things they want to swap, or aren't swappers, or whatever. I really want everyone that wants my yarn to have it. I do. If I didn't have to pay, you know, the mortgage, I'd love to give the stuff away, in fact, I sometimes do. A while back I was chatting (heh, I just typed shatting instead of chatting, and it's true, a while back I was shatting, but that's not what this post is about) with one of my favorite customers (wow, what if I was shatting with one of my favorite customers? yikes!) and she suggested I have regular raffles for my handspun. Her idea is that people could pay a buck and maybe win it but if they didn't they'd only be out a buck and I might get half or so of what I'd regularly charge so we'd all win.

I rejected the idea originally because...well...it seemed a bit, I don't know, vain, full of myself or full of my yarns, to hold a raffle. After all, aren't they usually held for charities or good causes or other benevolent circumstances?

But after getting 3 e-mails recently all in different states of lament for not getting the yarn/kit they wanted, I'm gonna give it a try, if there's anyone that would be interested.

So this is my question to y'all -- is there anyone out there that would be interested in a yarn raffle? I was thinking I'd do it something like this, one entry is a buck (paypal or cash), I'd take them for 2 weeks, then use an online random number generator to pick the winner. The winner would get 2 handspun yarns and one kit, one each for the next three months. That's one handspun hank(one is a kit) for 3 months. The first would be sent in May, with the 2nd and 3rd in subsequent months. If it went well, I could do it more often.

Anyone interested? Or is it a vain, full of myself idea and I should get a freakin' clue? let me know!