In Like a Lion

Happy March everyone! Last month my Totally Do-Able 12 Month Plan went out the window almost totally. It's nothing I'm upset over though. Most of the reason why I wasn't able to stick to my plan was because, even though I now have a paying job, I won't get my first paycheck until the middle of this month. Which meant another month pinching pennies and buying/doing only what was necessary to get by. I'll get back on track this month though.

That doesn't mean that I was idle all month. I finished the Wurm hat (which I already blogged about) and a Tweed Watch Cap.

Tweed Watch Cap

The Tweed Watch Cap is a pattern from 60 Quick Knits put out by Cascade. this is actually one of the hats I have enjoyed the most. The fit is absolutely perfect, not too tight and not too loose. I used a different yarn than Cascade 220 (as suggested) but, of course, any worsted weight yarn works with this pattern.

Speaking of yarn...I ordered some Knit Picks yarn using my Christmas gift certificate. It's been *a long time* since I've bought yarn from myself so this was a nice treat.

Stroll Sock Yarn

More Stroll

Swish Worsted, a washable wool

 I'm thinking about holding the sock yarn doubled and making some socks for charity since we're really in need of some warm, but thin-ish, winter socks for some of the kids. I don't have definitive plans for the worsted yarn but I'm thinking mittens (another need for the charity) or maybe a sweater (again, for charity, not for me).

In the world of my nonprofit (Eastern European and Russian Orphanages Project) things are busy as always. I made contact with a woman from Russia (through a friend of a friend) who is working with two small villages in need of some tangible support (see my last post for more information). I've begun hitting kids consignment sales and Goodwill looking for deals on like new kids clothes. I would say I've had pretty good success...

This is just one box of clothes that is almost full to the brim for one of the villages. Another box has already been sent and this:

Is the $10 (!) suitcase I picked up at Goodwill yesterday that is getting stuffed with more clothes and being sent this week with yet another friend of a friend who will actually be visiting the kids this summer! Despite all I've managed to get together (including 3 sets of sheets) there is a still a lot that they need. Shoes, bathing suits, and sports equipment are now becoming a priority. As always you can check out the EEROP website for info on shipping and needed items. EEROP will also be undergoing some changes this month. We are planning on rebranding under the name Walking with Orphans. While EEROP has accurately described our purpose for years it's not as memorable as Walking with Orphans (which, coincidentally also describes what we are doing really well). Be sure to check the website and Facebook page for more information as we make the switch.

It's only the 3rd and March is already shaping up to be a whirlwind of a month!

Just a Second

I literally have 5 minutes to make this posting before I have to get back into school work. My week has been super busy with starting a new job, being social, and trying to finish up the next to last week of school (for this quarter). I just had to share though: I met my goal of raising $1000 for my return trip to Romania in just 8 days. 8 days, people! That is so awesome! So, I'm not going to stop, I'm going to see how far this can go. The next milestone? $2000 in 21 days. Yep, I want to raise $2000 by the end of this month. How can you participate?

1. Donate through Heart to Heart International, the organization I will be traveling with. Their donation page is here. You can give online or send in a check. You can even sign up to give monthly (which would be great because I plan to travel at least twice a year to Romania). Make sure to designate your gift to Melissa Brown.

2. Buy a t-shirt. All the proceeds from my apparel shop will go towards this trip.

3. Buy some yarn. The monies raised from my shop will also be used towards this trip. As an added bonus you can use the coupon code "marchmadness" and get 15% off your purchase for the entire month of March.

Please consider donating something to help me return to my kids. I miss them terribly and they need a little love and caring after losing so much in life already. So... let's see if we can raise $2000 in 21 days!

Next posting: Updates on knitting! With pictures!

Horrible

I'm the worst sort of person. Here's what I gave my non-knitting sister-in-law for Christmas:

If you wish hard enough they'll become those socks you wanted!

My brother got a card. There was an apology inside for not having finished his tie. There was no yarn because I haven't found some yet (anyone know of a good variegated black/grey sock yarn?). There was no pattern because my printer has decided it's done playing nicely with the ink cartridges. This is the first year that I haven't finished my Christmas knitting on time. Of course I had a lot more to do this year but still...it tastes a little like failure.

In other crazy pants news: Last night when I came home (late) from my parent's house I noticed my downstairs neighbors had a candle burning on their patio. I was a little concerned because it was pretty close to the vinyl siding wall but they had Christmas lights on so I figured that they would come out and blow out the candle in a little bit. I came inside and did some stuff around the apartment and I kept thinking about the candle. I don't want my stuff burning down because some idiot left a Christmas decoration burning on their porch all night. So, I went downstairs to see if they had blown it out (P.S. It was after midnight at this point). They had not. Then I realized I was going to have to take action. So I go and get a cup of water, sneak down to the front of their porch, lean over as far as I can, then chuck the water in the direction of the candle. Success! Candle goes out, no siding was melted, the complex was saved. Now I just have monitor their porch to make sure they don't do it again.

Deadlines and Adjustments

This working from home thing is going to take some getting used to. I'm used to having my store and charity be side projects so I'm having to train myself to actually block out the majority of my day to work on these things and not other stuff. It's a slow process. Especially since I took on a baby-sitting/nanny job that will run until the end of June. I did manage to spend a day working on updating the shop. I finally have all my products listed.

Including new beauties like Oriental Lilly.

I also photographed over 40 donated pieces of clothing that came for the Eastern European and Russian Orphanages Project. I'll be taking them with me to Romania next week.

 Some super cute crocheted hats.

 A warm hat and neck warmer.

Cute baby sweater and hat combo.

 Two more boxes to unpack!

And speaking of Romania...I still haven't received my final information packet yet. The one with my plane tickets and packing list. Yeah, that one (I will not freak out...I will not freak out...). I'm praying that everything will work out.

The scarf I have been working on as my contribution to take with me to Romania is also not being as cooperative as I would like.

It's getting to just about the right size but my stitch count is forever off on the first 40 or so rows of the pattern. Right now I'm 4 stitches short. Which is more than slightly maddening. But I'm pressing on. And hoping to have this done by the end of the weekend so I can start working on a matchy-ish hat (it won't have the wavy multi-directional pattern but it will use the same yarn). I think I have a little over half a skein to go until the scarf is finished. Do-able? Yes. Probable? Hmmm....Knitting for tomorrow is mostly out as I will be helping my mom prep for my b-day celebration with family that evening and Saturday is somewhat out with a tubing trip and missions ministry meeting. I can probably manage to squeeze some time in there somewhere for knitting so it just might get done. That is, as long as I can get the right stitch count.

In other news, Penelope got her summer hair cut.

And I need to repaint my nails.

An End is a Beginning

Oh wow, where the heck did May go? Month #5 of 2011 was crazy. I was so busy with a million different things. There were 3 festivals, the end of the school year (and as such, the end of my teaching career), and juggling the start of several new ventures. So it's no wonder that I'm just now able to get back to blogging. However, I'm hoping that I'll be able to keep up the social networking on a more regular basis.

Now that I've ended my career as a teacher what am I going to do? Well, a lot actually.

1. Run Vivid Creation Fibers. That means more festivals and more time to devote to dyeing.

Section of my booth at the Middle Tennessee Fiber Festival.


2. Running the Eastern European and Russian Orphanages Project. We've been collecting and distributing clothing to orphans for a year and half now. Just since January we've collected 120 items. Currently there are two campaigns going on: a collection of items for me to take and distribute in Romania in July (ending June 25th) and a drive to collect 154 blankets for orphans in Ukraine and Russia (not ending until November). With big campaigns like this running pretty much all year I want to spend more time making sure the word gets out about the charity and logging and tagging donations.

3. Graduate school. I'm set to finish up in December of 2012 and next year I'll start my internship which will be like having a full time job (but not getting paid for it). Since I'm already taking a full load it will be nice to be able to devote more time to assignments instead of just after I finish a full day at work.

4. Personal assistant. Somehow I was lucky enough to swing a gig as a personal assistant for a friend of mine, Jonathan Merritt, who is a faith and culture writer. I clean, I file, I type book edits, I pick up dry cleaning. I pretty much do whatever is needed of me. I really enjoy having such a totally different job thrown into the mix of what I do. And because Jonathan and I have been friends for a few years we have a good working relationship.

In addition to these main four jobs there are other things I do. I'm very involved in my church's orphan care ministry, One.27, and I'm working with the leaders of our women's ministry to start a knitting group. I also baby-sit/nanny for a few families. I'm sure that there will always be a few "other" things that are going on in my life.

And what about the knitting? Mostly I've been making washcloths. Yep, washcloths. For selling, not using or giving away. So, I've been doing "work knitting." I have managed to start a Moderne Log Cabin blanket for some friends of mine who are getting married.

It's a little hard to see the white since it's against a white sheet but the finished blanket will be red, white, and black; a UGA blanket. I've been working on this since last Saturday but I've only gotten 2 squares finished. The wedding, unfortunately for me, is tomorrow (Saturday). They'll be getting a picture and promise that the blanket is on the way. It will be done though. I promised my friend Nick that when he got married he would get a handmade afghan from me. And I plan to make good on that promise. Even if it takes me until October.

I also picked up some new yarn today while I was on vacation in South Carolina.

I'm itching to begin some new projects, mostly hats and scarves, to take with me to Romania. There will probably be some project juggling over the next few weeks. Hopefully I'll keep up the blogging trend so you can follow along in the fun :)

Biggest News

So, the time has finally come to break my biggest news yet! Drum roll please!

As many of you may know I have been an educator for the past 6 years. First in the middle school band setting and then in 1st grade general education. I love kids and I'm a pretty good teacher but the work is stressful and there's always more to teaching than just teaching. Then in November of 2008 I launched Vivid Creation Fibers. At first VCF was pretty small and I mostly just carried stuff online but then it began to expand and I started selling at a local yarn shop and doing festivals. And in 2010 I started the Eastern European and Russian Orphanages Project. I thought the charity would just be a little Ravelry group for me and maybe a few people who stumbled upon it but in less than a year we had over 100 members. Most recently, in October of 2010 I started grad school full time. So for the past 8 months I've been working full time, going to school full time, running an expanding independent dye company, and organizing an international charity. To say I've been busy is an understatement. It didn't really surprise me all that much when I began to wonder about some of the commitments I'd made and began to reassess where my priorities were. Which has lead me to make a decision.

At the end of this school year (first part of June) I will be leaving my full time teaching gig to focus on my company, the charity, and grad school.

I'm super excited but also a bit nervous, as anyone would be I suppose, about stepping out on my own. This opportunity will allow me to focus more on traveling and doing festivals (I think I'm already signed up for 8 this year) and on getting 501(c)3 status for EEROP. Plus I won't have to worry about staying up late and trying to type up an assignment for class just hours before it's due. I'm hoping and praying that Vivid Creation Fibers will really take off so I don't have to get a part time job but that is still a possibility. Right now I have lots of friends who are willing to utilize my baby-sitting skills and I'm also not above cleaning a house or two for some cash so maybe I can get enough of those side jobs to make it work. We'll see. A lot of it is left up to faith but I truly believe I'm doing what I'm called to. This month has already been really good to VCF and to EEROP and it's not even half over yet!

I appreciate all the support that you as my readers have given me and I look forward to being able to keep in touch and network with you even more in the upcoming months. Until then it's a countdown to June!

A picture of me at the Southeastern Animal and Fiber Festival (SAFF) last year. So ready to start the festival circuit this year!

Looking Up

Since my last post about how crappy my day had been, things have been looking better on the job front :::knock on wood:::. Thank you for the kind words in the comments. I hate to throw my little pity party but it was so nice to hear people encouraging me to just hang in there. I have to keep reminding myself that no job is perfect and I'm very lucky to even have a job. And, of course, knitting helps. Today, I actually came home feeling pretty energetic instead of falling over from exhaustion. Could it be that I have (finally) caught up on my sleep? Or maybe it's just that I've been walking out of work each night as soon as I'm off the clock (instead of sticking around for another hour or so) and leaving it all behind me. Probably a combination of both. Anyways, I was feeling revved up so I did some chores and then dyed a little yarn.

Pink spaghetti! The color is actually a bit darker in real life. It's still a shade of pastel though. I'm thinking of calling it Bubble Gum. Hoping to post this yarn and another shade I dyed a few weeks ago in the store soon.

Still knitting along on a stealth project for Project Hope (stealth because it appears to be working out and I don't want to jinx anything by talking about it). Also planning on making a hat out of the rest of this yarn:

I think I can get another out of what I have left. That would make 3 hats from this yarn! Oh wait, I never told you about the second hat, did I? Hmmm...well, I was reading Knitting Rules! by the Yarn Harlot and in there it talks about teaching people to knit by having them knit a rectangle and sewing one of the sides together. It's the same principle as knitting a scarf, just on a smaller scale. For some reason it made me really want to try that technique. So I did. And, of course, I made it a little too long (remember I've been on a tear of sub-par hat making).

I've been pouting a little about this hat since I had such high hopes for it. And it's a beginners technique for goodness sake! This is supposed to be fail proof!

I guess I should know I can mutilate any pattern no matter how simple at this point. But today, as I was trying on the hat for a little photo shoot, I decided to try turning up the brim a bit. I'd tried it before but for some reason I couldn't get the length of the brim just right. Today, however, the stars must have aligned just so because I think I got it...

Looks pretty good now! Hopefully I've broken my streak of bad hats because I kind of agreed to make one more... We had someone in our EEROP group develop carpal tunnel and wasn't able to finish several projects she had hoped to contribute. It's truly unfortunate but now I have a purpose for the mittens I made and the fair isle sweater with the too small neck (I still have to fix it but now I have a reason to).

Settling In

The move last Saturday went really well (according to all the people who had moved substantial households) and now I'm in the sloooooow process of unpacking boxes and finding homes for my stuff. Some days I get really motivated and will tackle whole sections of a room. Other days I just feel plain lazy and maybe get one box done before I have to take a nap. The best part of the new apartment is that it has 2 bedrooms. The second bedroom is the office/music room/yarn storage area. I'm super excited to have a designated space for my yarn. Somehow those boxes managed to get unpacked fairly quickly.

The brown box is some gifted acrylic yarn from my aunt. In the clear totes are acrylics, miscellaneous odds and ends and started (and forgotten) projects. The major part of the stash is on the shelves. To the far left (not pictured) are actually 3 totes that I use for yarn and fiber that goes in the store. My swift and ball winder are set up against another wall and the skeiner is currently residing on my desk. I'm hoping to get a large folding table to take to shows. I can set it up in the office as well and use it for the swift, ball winder, and skeiner.

The office is also home to my music collection, desk, computer, and other craft related items. The closet is all for storage of lesser used items like the pilates ball and luggage. The only downside to this room is that it has no overhead lighting. I'm thinking of putting in a ceiling fan though to remedy this.

Once the yarn is unpacked the only logical thing, of course, is to get it out and use it. I finished the hat and mitten set from the Wool-Aid KAL.

I went down from a size 9 needle on the hat to size 6 needles for the gloves because I saw they were turning out much too large (had to rip back the first one I started). I also striped the thumbs of the mittens as I'm anal retentive about things like that. Please note that I'm still working on the fine art of pom pom making and, while results are getting better, this one is still a little on the sad side (I'm thinking I need to invest in a pom pom maker). None the less the pom pom kind of makes this hat so it's staying.

My hat count for this summer is now at 3 (which sounds rather pitiful considering it's been 2 months since I starting working on hats). I need 2 more for the EEROP/Project Hope drive plus a pair of socks (kid sized thankfully) and a little boy's sweater. Oh and some kid's mittens as well. All by mid-September. Where did my mad knitting mojo go? At least I was able to start on hat number 4 last night (and got fairly far).

It's three skeins of Berroco Cuzco. I'm using Grumperina's jog-less stripes technique to knit this. The only thing I wish I'd done was to cast on all in one color (instead of equal portions of all three). This will be a plain hat so I don't anticipate this taking me too long to finish. Let's just hope I don't eat those words later.

Finishing Up

There are lots of things that seem to be coming to a close around here. Most notably is my time in this (old) apartment. I move on Saturday which means this week is for running around throwing still unpacked items into boxes in the most organized manner possible before the moving truck pulls up. I can barely walk through any room now as they all have at least one open box waiting to be filled. I'm also slightly concerned about the amount of boxes in the living room vs. the weight load of the living room floor. We may be nearing capacity and I fear many of my worldly possessions may end up in my downstairs neighbor's apartment if I add anything else to the stack.

Also coming to an end is the Summer Mystery KAL via Wool-Aid. I finished the hat portion

and started the first mitten.

The next to last clue came out today and the last clue will come out this Friday. I love mystery KALs and have been trying to stretch my (sadly defunct) design legs by thinking up a mystery KAL for EEROP members. I must say that I love how the hat in this KAL came out. I didn't take gauge and I'm not entirely sure I used the right sized needles but I actually really like the slightly slouchy look that I managed to get. I plan on making this set of hat and mittens again with the reverse color scheme. This is a great quick knit!

The final thing that I'm finishing up (at least for the next few weeks) is dyeing. I packed up the last of

my dye stuffs today and they won't be out for at least the next week. But I did post three new lace weight yarns that I had previously dyed up in the store today.

Lemondrop

Midnight

and Frosted Raspberries.

Since today has been about packing and working and generally getting lots accomplished I'm going to spend the rest of the evening relaxing with some knitting. I think I'm entitled :)

Middle Tennessee Fiber Festival

I have some catching up to do I see. The biggest update is about the Middle Tennessee Fiber Festival which was this weekend in Dickson, Tennessee. It started on Friday but I had to work all day so my friend Stephanie and I headed out after I was able to leave. We got into Dickson after 10 so we just checked into our motel for the evening. The next morning we headed out at 8 to set up for the festival.

Pulling the car in to unload (as you can see, everyone else had already set up for the weekend).

My little sign marking my booth space.

Unloading everything.

Stephanie helping to set up the wire shelving.

Sock yarns on the table.

And on the wire shelving.

Aran yarn (on the left) and all the sock yarn.

Another view of the sock yarn.

Roving on the back shelves, bulky (in front of shelves) and aran yarn (front).

Checkout.

View of the whole booth.

And me!

Inside our "barn" area.

The fairgrounds outside the barn doors.

On Saturday there was sheep shearing every hour on the hour. Stephanie was able to catch one of the shearings and she took some great pictures of the process.

Sheep in the pen.

Baa, baa, black sheep...

The shearing.

And afterwards! I think it's so cool how their fleece comes off so cleanly in one piece.

We had a great time on Saturday and I ended up crashing at 8:45. I was exhausted! Thankfully the festival didn't start until 10 on Sunday so we were able to sleep in a little later. First thing Sunday we had a visitor.

I think I need a bunny. She would match Penelope perfectly.

Stephanie got in on the bunny love too.

Sunday was another productive day, up until the very last minute actually. Got to meet Mercedes of Kitchen Sink Dyeworks which was very cool. We broke down the booth and headed out to meet our friend Paloma who lives in Nashville. After dinner with her we headed to my aunt and uncle's house who live east of Nashville. While there I got a call from my dad saying the weather was bad in Georgia. Stephanie and I decided to stay with my aunt and uncle for the night since we'd be getting home after 2 a.m. anyways. This morning we had some delicious pancakes (made by my uncle) and headed home. Finally pulled in to my place around 3:00 this afternoon. I took a nap, picked up some groceries, and I've spent the night just relaxing. And designing a child's fair isle sweater.