Little Lippy Ewe Review and Giveaway.

Another treat? Yes, yes I do have another treat for you.

Lindsay from the Little Lippy Ewe has sent me this amazing project bag and is sponsoring this amazing giveaway for you. These bags are perfect for smaller projects and to keep the yarn in while you knit to keep the yarn clean. It has great structure so it stands up straight while you knit. There is a bead that slips up and down to open or close the bag. It´s not closed tight so don´t keep small things like stitch holder or weaving in needles in there if you think it will topple over but for knitting socks, mittens or scarves or baby projects, this is the perfect little companion bag to take along with you to knit anywhere and keep your yarn clean. I can totally see myself using it in the future for when I go to the Dr and have to wait or when my kids start doing sports then it can sit beside me and I can just keep knitting.

Here are some of my favorite prints that she sells in her shop.

One lucky winner will get a bag of choice from the Little Lippy Ewe. If you purchase a bag from here between now and the end of the giveaway and you end up winning then she will refund your purchase and let you keep the bag.

Here are the rules for entry. You can enter up to 5 times.

1. You can go to the Little Lippy Ewe website and tell me which bag you would like to win.
2. You can follow my blog and in the comment tell me how you are following.
3. You can follow me on Twitter
4. You can like me on Facebook
5. You can like Little Lippy Ewe on Facebook

Each time you have to come back and leave a comment on this blog with each entry and add a way to contact you with EACH entry. 

Good luck to all. I will be closing entries at 8pm on Sunday August 4th 2012 and using Random.org to pick the winners.

Blue Sky Alpacas Winner winner!

We have a winner for the Blue Sky Alpacas pattern and yarn!

Thank you everyone that participated in this giveaway. 

Number 63 generated by Random.org was the winning comment and it said:

Christine Christine1225 on ravelryJuly 24, 2012 6:41 AM

I am in love with the new Flint color in Metalico.

Christine, I will be contacting you on Ravelry to find out where to send your winnings.

52 week Challenge-Week 3 M's Clothes

Sorry for the late post. I've been a bit busy nesting and taking care of my family.

This is M. We are tackling his clothes today.

Week 3 of my 52 week challenge and I tackled my Youngest's clothes. They still live in the changing table drawers which I will have to change once this new baby shows up in about 2 months. But I have 2 months to decide on what I am to do.

Here is my embarrassing before pic.

And my after pics.

PJs

Shorts and sort sleeve shirts. Laundry day.

Socks and undershirts.

In his drawers I still had a lot of colder weather clothes that just are NOT being used in over 100F weather. So off they went to storage so the will be out of my hair. I love my banker boxes. They are perfect for storage of clothes. They have a lid that is easy to open and close as needed and are stackable and you can write on them what is in them.

I also threw away all the socks that didn't match and put the socks that were too small into storage for new baby. 

Since I was already at the changing table I went through the creams and stuff on the top and threw away all the stuff that was expired.

ON the knitting front I'm getting ready to cast on for my Ravellenic Games at 4pm today. I'm winding skeins and getting everything together so that I can start. I'm also doing some picking up of the house and cleaning so that I don't have to do as much of it as soon as the games start. As the knitters that follow me may remember I'm knitting Snowbird with yarn I already have. Stripes will be an interesting look on it. I just know it will be very snugly once it starts getting colder and I'm bouncing back from this birth. 

Blue Sky Alpacas Metalico and Pattern Giveaway.

Do I have a treat for you today? Yes, yes I do!

This showed up in the mail the other day. That is a the pattern Etched Rio Wrap and the SIX Metalico skeins in the colorway flint it takes to make it sponsored by Blue Sky Alpacas! All this is worth $97! One lucky winner will get this in the mail!

The skein to the left  in the colorway cinnabar I bought for myself to play with to do a review and I have to say that I'm in LOVE! I think this is the softest yarn that I have ever knit with and for being single ply it doesn't split very easily like many other natural fiber single ply yarns do. It knits up very evenly and great for lace work. I loved it so that I knit myself a quick cowl out of it that I can´t wait to wear once it starts cooling down.

Here are the rules for entry. You can enter up to 4 times.

1. You can go to the Blue Sky Alpacas website and tell me what your favorite yarn is from them
2. You can follow my blog and in the comment tell me how you are following.
3. You can follow me on Twitter
4. You can like me on Facebook

Each time you have to come back and leave a comment with each entry and add a way to contact you with EACH entry. 

Good luck to all. I will be closing entries at 8pm on Sunday July 29th 2012 and using Random.org to pick the winners.

Week 2 of 52 Week Challenge- O´s Clothes

Just finished week 2 of my 52 week challenge and this week was taking care of O´s clothes. He will hopefully be going to the Pre-K program at school this fall so he has to have plenty of clothes and I needed to put the clothes he had grown out of into storage until M gets big enough to wear them.

OK here I am being brave again and posting the before pic......  How embarrassing!

I read the second week post from the 52 week challenge before I started to find some inspiration. Non of the clothes needed to be tossed or taken to the thrift store since M will be the next in line for them. But a box was filled to be put in storage and some where already M´s size so I shifted them over to M´s clothes.

Here is my after pic and now I know how many clothes I do need to buy for O for school.

If it hadn´t been for this challenge I would have just sat and did this....

instead of organizing. Yeah, I was about to read Susan´s blog when I told myself to get off my bum and do something about my unorganized home.

What did you organize this week? Have any places in your home that you make an effort to ignore instead of tackling?

Monday Knitting Update

I have been busy knitting this week. I finished the baby sweater I was knitting and then I forgot to take a pic of it before giving it to my friend. I guess I will just have to get an action shot of it once her little boy is born next month.

I brought out my drop spindle! First time in a while and I´m taking some time getting use to it again. Here is what I've done so far. Totally a thick and thin yarn at the moment. The fiber is a little hard to get even. 

I worked on the Mitered Cross Blanket

Then Veronika from Yarn on the House got me knitting on a new pattern when I saw her finished first sleeve and I went to look at the finished product on the pattern page I really wanted to make it. I already had all the material in my stash (a must) so I decided to knit it. It´s called Maxfield Cardigan by Amy Christoffers and sadly I have to say I have had quite a few issues with the pattern. It looks pretty but I find it not very detailed like she was trying to fit this complex pattern on only a few pages when more explanation is needed. There is also only one needle size in the list of materials needed but then it asks for a larger and smaller needle to knit with in the pattern. I do like that it starts with the sleeves.Sadly this is the first time that I say that I feel like I would like a refund on my $7 dollars since this pattern does not seem to be properly test knit yet. I really want to knit this sweater but I might end up just free handing it at some point. I hate writing reviews like this. Makes me feel bad. The sweater is beautiful but the pattern is not reader friendly. I just can´t promote something by knitting it and not giving a proper review of the pattern. I won´t hold this against Veronika LOL. I´m sure she is having the same issues.

Went to Joann's and found this fabric that I got to make project bags with.

If you don´t follow Veronika at Yarn on the House then you are missing out. She does yarn giveaways on a regular basis and has started knitcations! You know you want a knitcation. I know I do. Sadly I will be giving birth during the time that this knitcation will be and after that we will not be able to afford one for a long while. But the goody bags that they are offering are to die for! You must check it out. I jokingly mentioned to Veronika that I planed on doing a knitstaycation and that I would love one of those bags. Sadly all I got out of that was a good laugh LOL which is what I expected . But I do hope that some of my knitting friends will enjoy this trip and take loads of pics so that I can sit and be totally jealous over them. Hopefully a newborn will make it all worth missing the trip. LOL.

What do you have on the needles or in your craft basket?

Saturday Personal Update.

M with his cool new shades from PA

O with his cool new Shades from PA

I know it´s blurred but That is M and my belly!

This week was lazy. Not just lazy but everybody was sick. My husband was home from work for 3 days and he never stays home because of illness. The boys ran a fever too. My asthma was working up again too. I´m 30 weeks pregnant now. Only 10 more weeks left but I'm HUGE. I look more than full term at the moment and I move like I´m about to pop tomorrow. I´m uncomfortable and tired. Feeling sorry for my children that I feel that I´m not meeting their needs to explore outside of the home. But with being home as much as we are they are having a blast with make believe while I sit on the couch, knit and gestate. They are being feed at the right time and healthy food, we have art time and they get plenty of attention. It´s just I feel that they deserve better at this point. It´s so hot outside during the day that just thinking about stepping a foot outside makes me want to sit under my AC vent on my loveseat. I remember feeling the same way the last time I was pregnant but then O didn´t have anybody to play with. Now the boys have each other and most of the time they have so much fun. I try to tell myself this is only for the next few months but a few months is forever to a 2 and 4 year old. But I am doing the best I can with what I have. That is all I can do.

OK, to my 52 week challenge. This week is O´s clothes. He is my 4 year old and will hopefully go into the 4 year old program this fall. So not only do I need to put the clothes that don´t fit anymore into storage but I also need to figure out how many pairs of pants I need to buy for the fall and how many shirts and sweaters. I will be using my Banker boxes for the clothes that are too small for O but too big for M and it will be stored in my closet. There are several jeans that O wore last year that have ripped at the knee but I plan on patching them for home use for M when he gets big enough to wear them.

On the knitting front I am back from my knitting block that I had last year. I want to knit everything! I´m only limited by the stash that I have already. I´m on a yarn diet and am not allowed to buy any more yarn til I have finished at least 75% of the stash that I have already. I hope to become the knitter that only buys yarn that I am just about to use for a specific project and actually finish that project before picking up the next.

How has your week been?

Wednesday 52 week challenge- Week 1

Week 1------ My Clothes
Before starting the purging and storing of clothes, of the 52 week challenge, that needed to be done in my closet I read over Orgjunkie.com´s Guide to decluttering your clothes and her week #1 Where to start post. My clothes are the first thing on my list and I´ve been a bit intimidated by this. My body has gone through a lot of changes since I got pregnant the first time 5 years ago and am now pregnant with my 3rd child. I have limited closet space since our closet is for both me and my husband and it is also storage. So now I have to get brave and take a before photo. I can´t believe I am going to put this on the internet........

Overflowing shelves

My side is the left side where the hangers are sticking in every direction

Yep there are things on the floor too

Reading through the guide really did help me. I come from a long line of horders because they came from people that didn´t have much so they held on to what they had. Now I live in a land and time of plenty and boy do I have plenty in my home. Overwhelmingly plenty. Time to get rid of what I have in excess and give it to people who don´t.

2 of the 3 bags I was able to get rid of

Boxed and organized

Yep no more stuffed closet

As I loaded my bed full of clothes I found clothes that I had forgotten I had or forgotten where I had put them. My clothes have now been organized in to several storage boxes, things were hung back up because of it being in use and 3 trash bags were filled to be taken to the thrift store.  It was hard to get rid of all the maternity clothing that was winter clothing and I will never wear again. It makes me sad. But a vital process to me realizing that this is it. My last pregnancy. As you can see my closet is a lot less cluttered.

What did you organize and simplify this week?

Monday Knitting Update

Happy Knitting Monday dear readers!

Here are the things that I´ve been working on this week.

Mitered Cross Blanket

and Puerperium Cardigan by Kelly Brooker, a free download.

The blanket is fun. I really enjoy knitting it and the way it´s assembled I have even been weaving in ends as I go. What a concept?!

The Cardigan has been going a bit slow since I hit the sleeves. But this week I will have to finish because next Sunday I will have to have it ready to give to my friend.

What are you working on in the summer heat?

Late Saturday Personal Update.

This week I have been not feeling so well. I ran out of my asthma medicine last Friday and we left for a Family Reunion with out it. By Monday when I picked up my medicine I was not doing so well and it took 2 almost 3 days to bounce back. So mostly I just sat on my couch doing nothing this week trying to breath and knit which I have done well on the knitting front and will have photos of that tomorrow. But I am starting my 52 week decluttering and simplification challenge this week and today I am tackling the first thing on my list which are my clothes. OK here is my honest concerns with this before I start.

This photo is from closetcustom.com I´m hoping that my closet might get this tidy.

Orgjunkie.com tells you to take it all out and then go through each item before deciding to put it in one of 3 piles or put it back into the closet.

• Pile 1 is the donation pile and in this pile should go anything you don´t love or haven´t used in over a year. 
• Pile 2 is long term storage and these are clothes that mean something special to you or your fav skinny jeans that you plan to fit in (this should be your smallest pile of only a few items). 
• Pile 3 is short term storage and these are the things that are not in season right now but you know you will use as soon as it gets cooler or warmer depending on what season it is. 

My closet is OVERFLOWING. I have my prepregnancy clothes in there, my winter clothes, my summer clothes, my skinny clothes, my fat clothes, clothes I haven´t worn in years. I have nothing in storage at the moment. I share a closet with my husband and we live in a house built in 1927 so we are out of space completely. Sigh. I have one of those bins that fit under the bed which I will now put my winter clothes in. I have filing boxes that I plan to use for long term storage and plastic bags for the things I plan to donate or take to the thrift store oh and then there is the trash pile for the things that are too worn to donate. 

If you are joining me in decluttering your home what are you working on this week? Remember to take baby steps and not overwhelm yourself. If you are not joining me but have a cluttered home what is holding you back?

Wednesday Simplistity- 52 Week Challenge

Hubby took this pic on our trip to PA at Columbus, OH

Happy 4th of July to my American readers! Hope you have a great day of good food and family fun.



My simplification of my home has been slow work and I haven´t had as much success since I haven´t been feeling well. So I believe I need more structure to my plan and I found a 52 week challenge on organization at orgjunky.com which I plan to use to simplify as well. She has a printable sheet where you can write what 52 places in your home needs to be organized and simplified. I thought to begin with that 52 places might not be enough but then I started writing it out and I realized that it was harder than I thought to find so many places.

Here is my list:

1. My clothes
2. O´s clothes
3. M´s clothes
4. New baby clothes
5. Linen Closet
6. Pantry Shelves
7. Downstairs Desk
8. Guest bedroom closet
9. Toys
10. Kitchen Drawers 
11. Under Sink
12. TV cabinet
13. Living room shelves
14. Art Cabinet
15. Piano Top
16. Fridge
17. Freezer
18. Yarn
19. Cloth Diapers
20. Bathroom Cabinet
21. Medicine Cabinet
22. Top of the Drier (this is a huge clutter zone for me)
23. Laundry station
24. Back yard toys
25. Entry Closet
26. Entry Hangers
27. Shoes
28. Snack cabinet
29. Counter Topes
30. Basement Bin 1
31. Basement Bin 2
32. Basement Bin 3
33. Gardening Tools
34. Bedroom Drawers
35. Car
36. Back Pourch
37. Guest Bedroom shelves
38. Tax Papers
39. Fire Box
40. Changing Table
41. Stored Clothing
42. Books
43. Laptop
44. Photos
45. Bathtub Top
46. Built in cabinet in Living
47. Living area
48. Wine Cabinet
49. Basement
50. Garage
51. Master Bedroom 
52. Children´s room

There is my list. Each week I will post a before and after photo of how I organized and simplified these areas. This way I am not getting away with not working on my plan. I am making a tab for this on the top of my page where I will draw a line through each thing that I work on and link it to the post where I describe the things I use for organization and simplification and have my photos. I believe that once you have finished your first year that it is easier the next years if you just keep cycling through your list for your house.

If you have followed me for a while then you know I have used FlyLady.net for my daily choirs but she hasn´t worked very well for me for deep cleaning and good organization. But I will put my 52 week list in my house folder.    If you would like to join me in my organization and simplification feel free to post your accomplishment in the comments of each Wednesday update.

What part of your house do you dread the most to tackle?

Monday Knitting Update- Newborn Sweater

In training for the Ravellenic games (that is what the Ravelympics were changed to because of a legal mater) I have been knitting more to get my speed up which I will need if I am to finish Snowbird in 17 days. This week I was working on my miter cross blanket and I started the Puerperion Cardigan in cotton for a friend of mine that is due a month before I am. It's a cute honey dew green cotton sweater. I still have the sleeves left and sewing on buttons and weaving in ends but I will have that done by next week. I joined Sweater Triathlon and Synchronized Stash Busting these games. I look forward to seeing how people do and meet some new exciting people.

This weekend I didn't do a Personal update because I was on a family trip to a family Reunion on my husband's mother's side of the family. We are very blessed to have big families and lots of people that love and care for our boys. O had so much fun that he didn't want to leave. He wanted to go back to the lake even though his face was burnt and so were his arms. We drove my parent's RV there and back and it was nice being able to stop anywhere and rest, have lunch, use the restroom, take a nap but the RV is older and not made to keep people comfortable in the middle of the day when it is 103F out. We drove there in the evening after dark and had to stop to sleep on the way and the same thing happened on the way back. But we were able to just find a rest stop and stop. It was so nice. Nights were very comfortable. Once we got to the reunion my husband's uncle's cabin was there with AC and all the good stuff so I spent my days in there like a beached wale. I'm big for not being due until Sep 21st. People often comment if the baby is coming any day now. But I got comments like that with all of my kids. Oh and "you only having one?".

We are all very tired since we didn't come back till 10am this morning. I only slept 4 hours last night because of children and we thought we could go without the AC but that was a fail and hubby had to get up at 4am to turn the generator on so that his wife could get some sleep.

Any of you doing the Ravellenic games and if so what are you going to be knitting and competing in?