(Tap tap tap)Is this thing on?

Let's RAGBRAI, shall we?

I got this wild idea Sunday night that I wanted to do RAGBRAI next year... and then I swiftly tricked Ticha into agreeing to do it with me (though if I'm being honest, there wasnt much trickery involved--I'm pretty sure she was itching for an adventure.) Reeled in a couple more suckers, Emily & Chloe, and we got ourselves a good time, I suspect!

Of course step 1 was getting a bike. I havent been on a bike since my modeling days in Ticha's Master thesis, so yeah... After more research than I could stand, and scouring the earth for a suitable bike, I finally acquired my new best friend--a cannondale caad13 womens 105, for all you needs out there. (Note to self: buying a bike the year after a fancy new pandemic graces the earth is a special kind of challenge. Slim pickin's and long wait times, if you have patience and want to be extra choosey!)

Apparently step 2 is blogging about it, bc apparently Ticha is the boss of me, and she said so. 

Knit Candy customs info will be updated here.

Wow, you ladies sure know how to make a gal feel loved!

When your turn comes up, I will e-mail you to let you know. In order to keep the list running smoothly, each person will have 72 hours to respond. You may either keep your place in line or be bumped down either 5 slots or to the end, whichever you prefer. If I don't hear from you, I will assume you want to move down 5 spaces.

Please have your payment ready after you make your fabric selection and I will begin work promptly. :)


Here's the list:

1. Heather J. * :e-mailed 6/10 ; 9/9 approaching the cutting board; 2/14 halfway done.
2. Shanael :e-mailed 6/10; fabric chosen; Almost complete; Picked up 7/16.
3. KaraLP :e-mailed 6/10 (I hope she's not flooding away!)--will be mailed 6/30; doh! 7/5 back on the cutting board; 7/16 more than halfway done; mailed.
4. Susan L. :emailed 6/10, 6/13
5. Suzanne :emailed 6/10, waiting for selection; will mail lecien CD 2/21; mailed 2/23
6. Angela :emailed 6/13; 8/19 waiting for selection; on the cutting board; need to touch base; will be ready to mail by 2/21; mailed 2/23
7. Kathleen B. :emailed 6/13; 7/5 on the cutting board; 9/9 prepping for shipment; shipped
8. Kim O. :emailed 6/13; fabric selection made; 7/5 on the cutting board, waiting for some fabric to come in; 8/18 nearly complete. ; mailed and rec'd
9. Heather (Katie's Mom): Katie Jup Rope Blue Flowers project bag, PAB
10. Taycia
11. Kathleen K.
12. Anne M.: CD in either lemon owls or the fish swimming with dots or stripes on the outside, and fish inside
13. Milli
14. Andrea: Will mail AH tattoo TD on 2/15; mailed
15. Annie L. : PAB (boho blossom) and TD (tbd)
16. Pam G.
17. Kim : CD (boho pistaschio pretty stripe); will mail 4/11
18. Tina: CD in Joel Dewberry-Aviary Sparrows (almond)

*Has temporarily stepped out of line, and may step back in later. :)

I'll have my fabric gallery and price info up by this weekend. I can begin on these Monday. I'll probably have a few going at a time. Thanks!

i've been busy, i swear.

Seriously, I have not been slacking. I have been SO busy. I'm working on a top secret project. Hopefully to be released by the end of this month! Something for all the knitters out there. Whoot! Stay tuned. You will not be disappointed...

Uh... whoops.

I can't believe it's been a month since my last post. My bad.

So, what's been keeping me busy... Well, I've tried my hand at dyeing some more yarn. I've finished a few projects, started a few more. My hubbo's been out of town, so that always puts a dent in things. To tell you the truth, I really don't know what I've been doing. Sorry, but sometimes I'm just a little more lame than usual.

check out this AWESOME hat!

This is a gift for my mother-in-law. There's no danger of her seeing it pictured on here before she receives it in the mail. I love it so, so much! I want to keep it. I'm definitely going to make one for myself some day. I used the Chevron Hat pattern and it was so easy. Even easier when the kids were napping... when they woke up, I found myself regretting not using the stitch markers suggested. Ah well. I had to add an extra pattern repeat since I was using a lighter weight yarn.

Happy Halloween -or- LOOK! I have 3 kids!

I know, Maria gets a lot of the face time on this blog, but let's be honest--she's small and therefore much more fun to knit for. But here's a good chance to brag on my boys--look how heroic they are! In case you're curious and happen to be living under a rock (or aren't glued to PBS like we are), Henry and Oscar are dressed up as SuperWhy. And Maria's a clown. Which was (not) surprisingly easy to pull together using random clothes from her closet. *Note the cute knitted pants, hee hee*

Oh, and Maria's bucket is a prime example of 3 kids, 2 halloween buckets. (See? She doesn't ALWAYS get all the breaks...) Luckily we go through a LOT of ice cream in this house.

In other news... My friend Heather showed me how to crochet last week. So now I'm making Maria some pants. It's pretty slow-going... my eyes aren't used to identifying crochet stitches. Half the time I don't know what I'm looking at. I've had to rip back a considerable amount 3 or 4 times. I think this is it though... I may actually finish these pants by the weekend. I'm using the same yarn I used in her birthday dress, coincidentally, because I had TONS of it. :o) Oh, and based on the Morning Glory Longie pattern from Ladybugz.

It's done when it's due!

The littlest Biesanz turned 2 yesterday! Isn't that weird? Or am I the only one that thinks that's weird?

Anyway, I knit her a dress (how could I not?) for the occassion. I wasn't sure if I was going to finish, but alas, I was weaving in those ends less than an hour before the first party guest arrived. And as always, I heaved a big sigh of relief to find out that Maria would actual wear the fruits of my labors. You know how kids are.

Now for the technical stuff... I didn't have a pattern I just cast on for the straps, and when I found out they were long enough.* I cast on an amount of stitchest between them and then started increasing to a point that I thought would work,* and then continued around until I thought the length looked good. Oh! The top part is all in seed stitch. Then I switched yarns (I was using Three Irish Girls "Elsbeth" on lindon merino, btw. 1 skein of solid, a little more than 1 of the pink...). I knit in stockinette increasing every once in awhile until I thought the length looked right* and switched back to the solid for a seed stitch cuff. Voila!

I know, clearly I should not quit my day job and become a pattern writer just yet.

*I was wrong and had to fix it.