Super cool: grass sculptures

I just came across this link today, and it makes me smile pretty hard. Take a minute and go visit!

13 Most Amazing Grass Sculptures

name changing

I'm getting married in two weeks. (Yikes.) And I'm changing my name to his.

I've also been thinking about changing the name of my shop. I had originally decided on SarahsAmiables to include my identity and to keep my options open as far as what I could sell -- knits, jewelry, handbound books, whatever I felt like making. Still, I find I'm pretty much exclusively selling fiber-related items. And I find I'm still not particularly fond of the name SarahsAmiables. Yes, it's charming and friendly, but it's not descriptive, nor is it super memorable. So I'm thinking of shutting down that name and getting a new one.

My favorite idea right now is WoolheadWorks. I've been listening to an audiobook in which the characters keep calling this one guy "woolheaded," and I can't help thinking that it doesn't sound so bad, being woolheaded. It's funny and playful, and a little pun-ish, given that wool is my most common fiber selection. But just "Woolhead" sounds a little bare, not to mention that there's already a shop by that name. So Woolhead-something. "Designs" and "Studios" sound too lofty for me, but "Crafts" doesn't quite fit. I think I like "Works" for the alliteration, as well as its pragmatic sound; and it still keeps my product options open, moreso than "Knits" would.

So. What do y'all think? Stay with SarahsAmiables? Switch to WoolheadWorks? Something else entirely?

Baby Sweater

Here is my latest listing on Etsy:


A baby sweater I knit, commissioned by my mother, for the daughter of my cousin. (Is there a name for that kind of familial relationship? The daughter of my cousin?)


I used Cascade 220 superwash wool. I bought two skeins, which was clever of me because the sweater took approximately 1.09 skeins. So, grr, I don't have enough in this color for a second sweater. This one was a lot of fun to make. I used Elizabeth Zimmerman's pattern from the Knitter's Almanac. I'm thinking about altering the pattern a bit, maybe changing the lace pattern, to see what happens. :)

I've also got a scarf in the works for the RNEST monthly challenge. It's blocking now, so it's almost ready!

wedding dreading

Words becoming synonymous with "wedding:"

work
obstacle
expense
headache
trial/tribulation
time suck
money suck
distraction
complication
inconvenience
affliction
burden

even: deterrent


Evan told me yesterday that he looks forward to the day he could call me his wife. I thought for a moment and replied that I looked forward to the day after I could call him my husband.

Feline Favorites

I have made my first treasury on Etsy! I call it: Feline Favorites.

Speaking of felines, Jude has developed a new endearing but not convenient habit. At some point in the very early morning, generally between 3 and 6 am, he leaps onto the bed, climbs over Evan's head, purring loudly, and paces on my pillow until I wake up. He then settles in the little space between me and the edge of the bed, so I have to spoon him hang on to him lest he fall. Of course I have to pat him, too. Very sweet, but I think I would more fully appreciate the sweetitude 12 hours later.

prayer shawl

A couple weeks ago I finally finished the prayer shawl I started way back at the end of December. I brought it home to Cheshire last weekend, and my mom will see that it reaches the proper authorities.

Mom has also asked that I start knitting mittens instead of prayer shawls. Most anyone can knit a prayer shawl, but the church knitters are afraid of mittens, and Mom has noticed that the homeless people she encounters when she does Midnight Run frequently lack and want mittens. I am happy to oblige, because prayer shawls bore me half to tears, and mittens are much more interesting (and quick!).

Recent Spinning

I cracked out my Kromski Symphony after several months a couple nights ago, and presto chango, I have 4 more ounces of spun up yarn! I got the fiber from Maine Woods Yarn in the colorway "Erin."

I'm spinning it up as a sort of worsted-weight singles, though the resulting yarn is distinctly woolen. No, I really can't tell you what my spinning technique is. It's whatever I developed when I started on a drop spindle -- a sort of lazy short backward draw.

I'm so proud of myself! I let the yarn sit on the bobbins for a couple nights to de-energize, and last night I washed the yarn and hung it up to dry and set the twist. (I felt especially clever, propping metal rods over the top of the shower between the wall and the curtain rod, to hang the skeins from there, so they don't drip over the floor.)

What should I make?