Stovepipe

SO the kids didn't sleep very late today but I'm still on my routine.  I've been getting up with hubby so I can shower first thing, and that seems to help a LOT.  Mt Washmore is almost gone, and the dishwasher has been run twice a day (by me) since Tuesday.  This is unusual in this house. 

Alex slept alone for a 40 minute nap, and I got a lot of work done for the Shop.  I am making sure everything is inventoried, photographed, banded, and ready to go for our sale, starting January 22nd.  50% off all supplies for knitting, spinning and felting.  (yeah, that's everything in the shop!)

I am knitting my fourth stovepipe hat.  It is a tube that is pulled closed at one end and secured with a cord lock.  ETA:  When the cord is loosened, the Stovepipe can be worn as a cowl.  So far I have knit 1 child hat, 1 adult hat with a neck flap, 1 adult hat with no flap, and the current one which is an adult hat with little girly cables on it.  They need to be photographed, then the hats will be available in the shop.  Here's an example of a stovepipe hat I knit as a Christmas present for one of my nephews:

That's hand dyed yarn by the Dyenamic Dyestress, people!  I definately need a better model, Kinnearing myself is not gonna cut it. 

Once the stovepipe hat pattern has been test knit, it will be available for available on Ravelry.  (See on the right, there's a place for patterns already?  That will link to the Ravelry store.)  If you happen to download the pattern and have any feedback, please share it!  I would love to hear your thoughts.

Alex wanted to play downstairs yesterday so I took the opportunity to look through some of the HUGE bags of yarn down there for some stuff I could use for the shop - and found quite a bit that fit the "cozy neutrals" theme a la MaryMary.  I bagged each of them up with a note inside of what I wanted to use them for and tossed them in a reuseable shopping bag.  Now when I need to start a new project, I just grab a bag!  No wondering what to knit, etc.  Yay me!  Now if I could only streamline the rest of my life...

Getting Inspired

Thursday is my night off. I run errands, dine out, then go to knit with the Knit Chicks. I look forward to Thursdays. Sometimes I don't think I would retain my slim grasp on reality without them. So when life got in the way of my last three Thursdays, I was not happy. Baby wasn't sleeping, errands, last minute preparations for the big first birthday party, bad weather threatening, all kept me from where I really wanted to be. I was teetering on the brink of going quite insane. I wanted to talk to adults, about anything except diapers, boo-boos, naps and formula. Maybe pretending to be an adult for one night might bring back some creative inspiration too, but I'd settle for a conversation that didn't revolve around poop.

I wasn't away from home more than two hours when I got my first flash of inspiration. I was reading Cat Bordhi's book while I ate dinner. Side Note: People seem to be stunned when I say I went out to dinner by myself. I used to do it all the time, not so much now. Is dining alone something to be embarrassed of? Does the dining public expect me to stay home just because my friends weren't free tonight? Or do they expect me to eat fast food by myself in the car? That does not sound appetizing... ANYWAY, Cat has written a lovely book "A Treasury of Magical Knitting" which is very interesting reading, and I got really inspired to knit some mobi-eye. (what's the plural of mobius? any idea?)

I thought that was great, then I saw what all the Chicks were working on! We celebrated Irene and Elaine's birthdays with yummy cake. Happy Birthday ladies! It was a pleasant night of chatting and knitting, and I got home only a little after bedtime. My head was so full of ideas, I couldn't sleep. I was up until three in the morning.

I joined this Design Along with some pretty darn talented knit designers. Now that I have lots of inspiration, I'm ready for the challenge. Just have to narrow the potential design projects down a bit... details on those so you can vote for your favorite tomorrow!