The Summer Crunch

Design in progress for Manos del Uruguay

By now everyone has probably settled into a summer routine. I'd love to hear what you're doing or have planned this summer! Camping? Visiting distant relatives? Or are you just relaxing as much as possible and enjoying the lazy days of summer? I'm not sure what we're doing yet. The hubby isn't one for making set plans! Sometimes we take the kids on a mini vacation to an amusement park or we head north to Lake Tahoe or Seattle. Right now the cooler weather would be my choice! We reached 102 degrees here yesterday and it's supposed to be hotter today!

Some of us do still have to work though. As you know... I work from home, doing what I love most, that being a stay-at-home mom and designer of knit and crochet patterns. I'm actually working on designs for 2 separate yarn companies at the moment, and the deadlines are quickly approaching! Silly me, thought I'd have more time to focus on my designs over the summer, but now that the kids are on summer vacation, the days seem busier than ever and just seem to fly by! I'm wearing many hats right now! Chauffeur, nurse, chef, referee, you name it! It's a challenge finding any "me time"! I've been staying up late, after everyone's gone to bed, to just enjoy the silence. It's so soothing to my soul. But then morning comes... My son has been waking up at the crack of dawn! Why is it that I have to drag the kids out of bed to get ready for school, but during the summer they're full of energy and waking up with the twittering of the birds? I don't know how long I'll be able to manage on 4 hours of sleep! Looks like I need to start trying to go to bed earlier as well.  
On another note, I've even started podcasting! It's something I've wanted to do for quite awhile. But it never seemed like the perfect time to get started. So I finally just decided to take the leap and jump right in! Otherwise it might have never happened! Scroll down to my previous posts and you'll find all 5 episodes that I've recorded so far! Have a watch and please let me know what you think! I have lots of plans and ideas for future episodes including more guests, giveaways and maybe even a few tutorials! Tell me know what you would like to see!
Well... my kids are in need of some attention this morning, so I'll end here for now. Please comment below and share some of YOUR summer plans with me!

BayAreaKnitter Podcast - Episode 3: Meet Chili our Chinchilla!

Welcome to Episode 3 of my Bayareaknitter Podcast, where I introduce my lovely daughter, Caitlin, and Chili our Chinchilla! This episode is a bit shorter than the last one, but I wanted to get something up this week. Now that the kiddos are out of school, it's a bit of a challenge to find a quiet moment around here. But I'm determined to make it work and to keep podcasting on a regular weekly basis. On a sidenote, I have to apologize for not getting around to announcing the winner from last week's giveaway! It completely slipped my mind until after I had recorded this episode! So, I will be uploading another very short video to announce the lucky winner as soon as possible! Stay tuned! I'll also post the winner here on my next blog post, so check back to see if you won! 

Anyways, click the link below to view this week's episode, and be sure to subscribe to my channel! 

SHOW NOTES:

Knitting needles mentioned: http://www.amibari.jp/english

Baa Baa Black Sheep Project Bag by JustK33pKnittin9 on Etsy & Instagram

https://www.etsy.com/shop/JustK33pKnittin9?ref=search_shop_redirect

Podcast mentioned: http://wolfefarms.blogspot.com/

Dawn of Wolfe Farms is knittinwolf on Instagram

Follow me on IG: Bayareaknitter
Find me on Ravelry: needle2needle
Blog: http://bayareaknitter.blogspot.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Knittingwith...
Follow me on Twitter: Bayareaknitter

As promised in this episode, here's the photo of Chili in the toy shopping cart. Caitlin has been giving him rides around the house in it! ;)

Chili in the shopping cart!

I've also fallen prey to the mitered square addiction that seems to be going around on all the social media sites! Below you'll see photos of my very first squares. I used fingering weight sock yarn for both. Although I ended up frogging the smaller one and re-knitting it at the larger gauge combined with another yarn to give it a striping effect. I like the fabric better at the 41 stitch gauge on size US 3 needles. My original plan was to make the Sock Yarn Blanket or "Scrappy Happy Blanket" as some people call it. But I'm now thinking it might make a lovely wrap or shawl! We'll see once I get further along. If you'd like to join in on this fun knit, click this link to visit The Heathen Housewife's post "All About the Blankie"! There you'll find instructions on how to knit the squares and then how to attach them all together! Be warned, this is very addicting! 

I cast on 31 stitches and used size US 2 needles for this one.

I cast on 41 stitches and used size US 3 needles for this one. 

Last but not least, I wanted to share my newest design with you! It's a pair of Fingerless Gloves that I designed for Manos del Uruguay yarns and they're named "Cobre". You'll find them on Ravelry by clicking this link: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/cobre Be sure to "Favorite" them once there!

I designed "Cobre" for Manos del Uruguay.
Pattern available now!

That's all for now, but be sure to check back for my next post... coming real soon!!!

A Post Card From the Road

Just thought I'd test out the Blogger app I installed on my phone. Therefore, I'm sending a postcard from the road! We left South Lake Tahoe this morning and we're headed home.
Just doing a little knitting now that we're back on the highway again. Just passed through Sacramento. Wow what a difference in temperature! It's about 20 degrees warmer here than it was at Lake Tahoe! Ok... Back to my knitting! ;)

I just joined Bloglovin!

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Happy New Year ...and the 52in52-2012 challenge!

Winter has officially arrived... bringing with it colder days... and the perfect excuse for knitting (like I needed an excuse)! I have also decided to start blogging again... now that I have finally figured out how to upload photos and content via my cell phone. Isn't it great to be living in the ages of technology?
You can find me on Ravelry as needle2needle. I just joined the group *52 in 52* -2012 which is a year long knit-along. The only rule… knit, crochet, spin or weave at least 52 projects between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012. That averages one per week. Can I do it? We shall see! Keep posted to view my progress! I cast on my first project yesterday, which is for a customer of mine. She wants a thick and fuzzy orange and black scarf for her sister's birthday. Her sister is a huge San Francisco Giants fan. So... my first project is well underway... Photos coming soon!
I have lots of plans for this blog... so check back often for updates on my adventures in knitting and the fiber world! Also feel free to leave comments and let me know what you are knitting this year!