In Passing, part 2

Thank you all for your kind words. They mean a lot to me.

(Note: this post refers to the weekend of July 21st)

No where near the same magnitude of my grandfather passing is the passing of one of my favorite yarn shops, Lint. This will definitely have knitting related content.

I guess I am so sad to see Lint pass out of existence because the shop is only 4 years old. My own shop that I work for is only just over 2. I guess it really hits home to me because Lint has always felt like the Portland version of Knot Another Hat. Could our shop go the same way in another 2 years? I most certainly hope not and will do everything in my power to make sure it doesn't, but a lot of things can happen in 2 years...

Anyway, all this sadness most certainly hasn't crushed my desire to buy yarn at a really great discount. All of this was bought before my grandfather went into the hospital, so no it wasn't a big shopping spree to make myself feel better.

First off, this is the yarn that I purchased before they had their sale. I knew I wasn't going to be able to make it to the sale because I had to work Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, so I did the next best thing. I went the weekend before and picked out somethings that I knew would go pretty fast. Then I had my husband take notes of different yarn brands and I sent him instead on Saturday. He is a saint!


This is the stash that he got me: Koigu, Noro, Lamb's Pride and Debbie Bliss. What more could a girl ask for?


This is what he got for himself. Enough sock yarn for 4 pairs of socks, with the hint that perhaps I could knit these up for him for all of the trouble he went through for me. (He also picked up the last Harry Potter book and let me read it all before he did). I suppose I can knit up a few pairs of socks for such kind devotion!


One last sale thing that I got, is I got my books from The Hurt Book Sale, run by Interweave. They even gave me an extra discount because I bought both Scarf Style and Wrap Style together. The sales are always rather hectic and I about cried because they had the Alice and Jade Starmore's Children's book on there for $10 and I was too late to get it. How cruel is that? If you want to know when the next Hurt Book Sale is, sign up for Knitting Daily, that's how I found out.

In Passing, part 1

Daniel Hanners

July 11, 1921 - July 27, 2007

I am sorry for being a bad blogger. My grandfather went into the hospital on Monday and passed away Friday morning peacefully in his sleep. There won't be any knitting content, but I thought I would say a few words about a man who has meant so much to me.

He was a great man who did so many wonderful things in his life. He was a Pearl Harbor survivor. After WWII he married the blond bombshell that was to be my grandmother. He went to school at UC Davis and got his degree in 3 years instead of 4. He moved back here to Hood River and helped found the first bank of Hood River. It was later bought out by US Bank and he was the manager there for many years. He helped found the Westside Fire Department and helped train the first recruits with the skills he had learned in the Navy. He started running the orchard that belonged to my grandmother's parent's. He slowly bought up more land as it became available and slowly turned it into a pear orchard instead of apples. He discovered in the late 70s how to grow the largest apple in the world, weighing in at 3.5 lbs and it tastes good too. Above all of these accomplishments he managed to be a good father to 3 children and a wonderful grandfather to 8 grandkids.

He was always there to promote us in whatever we wanted to do. He helped me pay for my college education and was always proud of everything I did. He always was interested in what I was doing and listened to what I was up to. He cherished the things I made for him. Like the felted clogs that I made for him for Christmas. They were a bit too small so he made my grandmother track down a special pair of stretchers to try and stretch them out to fit his feet. It didn't end up working, so my dad has ended up with them and loves them. I will really miss my grandfather. So, please, for his sake and mine go and hug your loved ones today or give them a call and tell them how much you love them and how proud you are of them. I knew that my grandfather felt those things for me and it has made all the difference in my life.

A Little Twisted

Look, I have a sock done!

One beautiful sockaplooza sock done! Now I just have to finish the 2nd one by August 7th, do you think I'll make it?

Then in the mail I got my copy of the Twisted Sisters Knit Sweaters book. It is really awesome! So many beautiful pictures and wonderful tips. I am totally impressed! I tend to buy most of my books through Knot Another Hat, but this is special:

I got it signed by Lynn Vogel. I am a huge fan of the Twisted Sisters and stalk them at Black Sheep Gathering and Oregon Flock and Fiber. I think it has totally paid off. In case you can't read it, it says: To Yvonne: Happy Knitting & all things fiber to a true dyed-in-the-wool Twisted Sisters Fan. Believe me I was so thrilled I couldn't sit still.

What a Heel!

I have been having heel issues lately:


First up are these adorable baby booties from the Dale of Norway Soft Treasures book. I knit them out of Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino Color #700 red. I made the first one, then put off making the second one for, oh say, about a month. A big mistake. Apparently I read the directions wrong, so when I went back I read the pattern the right way and the heel was different. It took me something like 3 tries to get the heel looking the same as the first one. They have been gifted to Sarah for little baby M.


Next up is my Mine, Don't Touch! socks. They are knit out of my Mine, Don't Touch! Superwash Fingering Sock yarn, of course! Currently they have a heel, but not for much longer. The first one fits perfectly and is done. I wrote down the numbers and everything, but then I "borrowed" the counter from this one for another project, so I guessed that it was long enough to start the heel. It is just a tiny bit too small, so I need to rip back the heel and add a couple more rows. Thankfully they are mine, so I can take my time with them.


Next up are the Sockaplooza 4 socks. At first I thought that I would give them a traditional short row heel. I love doing short row heels. I started it in the Mountain Sunset yarn (the pink), but I really didn't like how it looked. It was really too bold. So, I have started a new heel flap with a slip stitch pattern. They are quite gorgeous. I'll update again when I get the heel done. Ok, that last part was written earlier. The slip st pattern was way too busy. So, I am onto heel try #3 on these as well.


Lastly, I have been working on this lovely Moebius bag. I started it around Christmas. It is my only project without heel problems at the moment. Of course it doesn't have a heel, so that might help. It is fun because it is knit around and around on big needles. There is something very peaceful about a mindless knit. I'm still debating if this last ball will be enough or if I will need another one. It is knit out of Dive Teseo in Color #21763 Riviera Blue.

Order Form!

Introducing a new look to lavendersheep.com! I am so excited! I have redone the site so it is lighter and prettier.

I have also been working very diligently with Peninah to make an order form for my yarn. So, now when you want to put in an order for a skein of yarn you can simply use this form. If you have a large order (or are one of my wholesalers) you can still email me directly at: lavendersheep (at) gmail (dot) com.

I am Such a Busy Girl!

Wow! I have been busy the past week+.


First up was the company picnic. Well, the Google company picnic for Blair's work. It was a lot of fun. There was great food and the people are really nice. I must say that it was the first company bbq that I have ever been to where they served baked potatoes and caeser salad.
One of the best things about the company picnic was the dunk tank. A bunch of Blair's bosses got up there. Then they called Blair up. He wasn't expecting to go in it, but he was a good sport and hopped on up. Here he is after his probably 3rd or 4th dunking. They were raising money for the local animal shelter, so it was all for a good cause.

Next up was the 4th of July. We had a pretty big bbq for the 4th. We didn't get a lot of pictures because everything was so busy, but it was a lot of fun. We are hoping to have a few more bbqs with friends and family throughout the summer. Hopefully some at some of the great parks and lakes in the area. This picture here is of Chuck, who lives a little more on the wild side than the rest of us. I just love the quiet contemplative look he has as he is holding this highly dangerous firework. He looks almost like Hamlet contemplating the skull.

Then yesterday we went and celebrated my grandfather's 86th birthday. I didn't get any pictures, but it was fun. I love getting together with my family. My grandparents are a total hoot, so it was fun to see everyone.

Soon I will have a post up with some actual knitting content. I have a lot to show you guys or else I would include it in this post!