Crowing Ram

		Be vewwy vewwy quiet. We're hunting a yarn shop!
It's just after 5:30am, and the shop is quiet and still for the moment.

But wait. There's something stirring, and it's considerably larger than a mouse!

Yup. I've been up all night again, and let me tell you: it's been a long one.

No, I haven't been putting shelves together all night, and no, I haven't been putting yarn out all night, either. I've actually been putting together a little something for some friends who've been asking logo merchandise from ThreadBear. You guessed it. I've been to Cafe Press, and we're finally up and running on that end. Check it out.

As for everything else, well, the house is coming along very well, and as always, I've got some pics for you.

If you can think that far back, Stitches Midwest was just over a month ago, now, and the day before the big event, Teresa of One More Row and Another Latte and her elusive partner C stopped by on their way to Chicago. We had been in the house right at a week, and the front room had just been painted, and we were stocking shelves.

There'll be hell to pay when Rob sees this (he's as camera-shy as C, sometimes), but if you look beyond the table, you'll see what was the subdivided room in the middle of the house with the drywall ripped away but with the studs still standing.

And just so you know that I'm not the only one in trouble for taking pictures, C was doing it, too.

Yup. That's the ever mysterious and always beautiful Ms. C standing there behind the shelving. She's kind of like the white rabbit... always popping out of sight just when you think you've got her. Never have understood that. Personally, I think she's gorgeous. But I think Rob's pretty darned handsome, too, and he's a bear to try to bring into focus.

So then we got rid of the walls, and we had this.

Look vaguely familiar? Well, you saw some of that on the first tour. What you didn't see was this.

Yeah, it was kind of gross, but that's what we moved into. We were definitely camping out for those first couple of weeks. Thankfully, though, it hasn't lasted.

A little... well, a lot of Kilz 2, and a whole lot of elbow grease later, and it was ready for color.

Drum roll, please... And now, the middle room.

Ok. Yes, there's still a big hole in the wall behind one of the shelves. Why? Well, that's where the staircase will be that leads up to the master suite. Unfortunately, neither the staircase nor the master suite is ready for viewing. But oh, trust me, there will be pictures. It's a story unto itself.

For now, though, may I present the side room...

...and to date, my favorite spot in the house.

There's plenty of room for me, a project in my lap, and Tate curled up beside me. You may have noticed that the walls are unfinished. Well, again, that's because the staircase will affect this room, too. When all of the construction is done, though, I'll have to pull the shelving away from the walls and paint in here. <shudder> ;-) It's not that bad, really. I'm just getting tired of painting... and there are rooms yet to do.

And now for something completely different: KNITTING!

Yes, I actually have gotten a stitch or three knit over the last couple of weeks, but I'll have to just describe it for now. The sun's come up, now, and I'm fading fast.

First, we're getting ready for a local show next weekend, and we're planning on selling scarves and teaching folks to knit. I've knit another multidirectional scarf or two in Silk Garden, one scarf in Crystal Palace Musique and a metallic bronze Dazzle eyelash, and one scarf in Musique and Crystal Palace Fizz. I'm currently about half-done with a scarf in Lana Grossa Star held with a strand of Fizz, too.

Fortunately, that's not all of the knitting I've been involved in.

This is Amy. We like Amy. She's very nice, and it just so happens that her husband owns our house (but we liked her before that). Amy is um... how can I put this... high-strung, and for quite some time, she's avoided learning to knit.

Amy learned to knit this weekend, and she's going like gangbusters. I can't believe she ever thought she'd have trouble. She did say, though, that it takes twenty-one days to form a habit, so I made her promise that she'd spend no less than fifteen minutes a day for the next three weeks knitting.

Oh, and she's knitting a garter stitch scarf on 15US needles in Cascade Magnum. It's exceptionally nice, and her stitches couldn't be more consistent.

And this is our friend Nancy's Mountain Colors lap throw. It's knit in stripes of Moguls and Mohair is their Winter Sky colorway, and it's incredible to touch.

And this is my Moma!!

That's Mother Mary on the far right starring in a commercial for the clinic in LaGrange, Georgia where she works. Ok... so it's a Botox commercial. She's beautiful, she's wonderful, and she's had a little work done. Go, Mom! Personally, I thought it was pretty neat. Also neat is the fact that the woman sitting beside her is a friend I've known all my life. Hi, Kathy!! Oh, and that's my allergist on the left there. She's pretty cool, too. (We love her!! She lets me breathe.)

Mother Mary's having some health issues at the moment, though, and she's heading into surgery in a couple of weeks, so happy thoughts, people. Happy-HAPPY thoughts. Love you, Moma!!

And last but certainly not least, we have the adorable dog pics. I'm not quite sure why, but Amy (Low Helen's neice, not our landlord's wife) decided that Tate needed a scarf for the afternoon, so he's wearing Helen's Silk Garden Multidirectional Scarf. We love her, but the girl's just not right.

Connor? Oh, well, she's just making sure that rug doesn't fly up and hit somebody. She's good like that.

Much love, people... and all the joy in the world.

posted by Matt at 8:51 AM