Happy Cheeks Diapers

The Gods must be crazy (or maybe it's me)...

2008-01-30T11:45:00.000-06:00

I've been walking around for weeks now trying to figure out where my business is headed. Do I want to continue to stay on HC or branch out and sell on both HC and my .com site? Do I have the time to sew at home and meet the increased demand or is it time to look for a manufacturer/seamstresses? Is my pattern the way I want it to be or does it need a little more tweaking??

As if that's not enough, I'm working with a very dear friend and possible one of the sweetest people you'll ever meet (or not meet since she lives several states to the east of me and we only have chatted via email and phone..lol). This friend is truly my hero. She's been hit with many an obstacle in her life, but she just shrugs it off and keeps on trucking. I've had the pleasure of working with her on a project for her special needs daughter who's grown, and I don't think I've ever been challenged like this before. And the strange thing is... I LIKE IT!..lol.. No, seriously..lol.. I'm having a blast!!!

So, you think at this point life is good, right?

Enter Stacey, a friend I met through one of my yahoo groups and who happens to live just a few miles south of me... Stacey wants to start running co-ops and is so enthusiastic about it that I decide I want back in as well. So that's what we're doing. We're hoping to breathe new life into our old group and will soon be overrun with tons of fabric, notions and anything else you need to sew to your hearts content.

And I'm happy!

And again... life is good...

Until my mind starts to wander once more. I'm dreaming patterns. I can't fall asleep at night because in my mind I'm working on a new pattern for my diapers. It's right there. I have it, it's perfect and it's complete. Elastic placement, snap settings... it's there. All it takes is transferring to paper (or poster board) what's in my head and start sewing.
The sad thing is, I just KNOW it won't stop. A few months from now, my mind will begin throwing me bits and pieces of an idea and make me run with it. I'd love to be able to shut if off, but I have no idea how to go about it or if I even want to.

Did I mention I have kids? 4 of them? And a husband? 2 cats, 2 dogs, a guinea pig, a bunny and a turtle dove? A household to run? And only 24 hours in a day?

But life is good.

On a side note... when you have a cat that's mentally challenged, nothing she does surprises you. This cat will pee just fine into her litter box, but refuses to poo in it. Which translates into us constantly being forced to scoop her poop from the bathroom floor (not 2 feet from said litter boxes).
I was about to do just that this morning when my 2 year old informed me.. 'No Mommy, I count kitty poop... two, three, four poop Mommy. All done'

Yep, life is good indeed!

Another useless entry :)

2007-10-29T11:14:00.000-05:00

Well, useless only if you don't have any custom with me at the moment, or you don't want to know how our rescue puppy is doing, or you really are NOT interested about what's coming up as far as my store is concerned..lol...

I have just finished 4 pairs of Longies in 1 week (yes, I'm crazy that way), and can't wait to get pics up... 2 were part of a 3 pair YYMN order of one of my favorite customers (she ALWAYS sends me the best yarns..lol), one a pair of small Longies for a friend in Alabama (you know who you are..lol) and one was a pair of girly pants that I knitted up using yarn I bought from Lori at The Leaf Shoppe on Hyenacart. It's called Witchy, and even though it's a name that might make you think of Halloween, these are pants that can be worn all winter long... Oh, and it has ruffles!!..lol...

Otherwise there's really not much going on. Daisy is doing well. She loves the boys, but I have to work with her on several basic commands, ie, stay (she loves to run out of the front door when someone enters or leaves), down, no jumping... I have started to keep her beside me on a leash, and she doesn't seem to mind. This way she's always near me as well as I am near her to remind her of the rules. She loves the attention and is a very quick learner. And the best part is, we're doing it without the need for treats. She just loves to be touched and that's good enough for her. I'm attempting 'positive reinforcement' this time, ignoring the bad behaviors and seriously rewarding her for the good ones... Only thing I don't like is that she's absolutely NOT house broken (I hate that word.. 'broken'). But she's also getting much better at it.

On the business front, there are quite a few changes. I am currently marathon knitting and crocheting (or attempting to) my way through a big part of my yarn stash. I hope to have a nice stocking of instock items in the very near future. There's even a tiny Newborn soaker made from Bananafish BBR from Kimberly at Beemerknits.
So keep your eyes out for some fun within the next 2 weeks :)

Welcome to the newest member in our household!

2007-10-26T17:47:00.000-05:00

Say hi to Daisy, our newest Puppy. We have no idea what breed she is, how old or where she came from.

Tuesday after school we were driving toward our house (I had gone up to school to get my kids since it was raining) when my 9 year old saw a puppy. She was all alone, out in the rain, digging through a trashbag. My son mentioned that she was so skinny that you could see her ribs. We immediately turned around but didn't see her again. My son was quite upset by seeing her this way, and it kept him up all night.

Wednesday, as they were walking back from school they saw her again. This time all 4 of them (3 of my boys and my niece) started to call for the puppy and she followed them home. She looked so sad. Hipbones, ribs, spine, all visible... Needless to say we were both quite upset at seeing such a beautiful puppy in such a state and pretty much decided that she would stay...

So here we are.. TWO dogs, 2 cats, one turtle dove (that I handfed after she had fallen out of her nest), one guinea pig and a bunny... Add to that 4 boys and a husband, not to mentioned a house and business to run, and I'm one busy woman lately..lol...

Without further ado... here's Daisy :)

Isn't she just cute???

See her ribs? The picture doesn't do the actual 'damage' any justice :(

But she's sooooo playful and loving!!!

So if anyone know what breed she is, I'd love to find out.. We are thinking some sort of American Bull Terrier mix...

What happens when I'm busy??

2007-10-01T18:21:00.000-05:00

Let's see...

You knit a pair of Newborn Longies with Ruffles for Ramona (picture to follow)...

You knit a pair of large Longies for Lori (picture to follow, not quite done because I need to run the cuffs by you.. hope you like it)..

You knit a pair of Longies for Jeme (only about 4 inches of the legs to go)..

You sew 28 diapers, 12 of which are for the Raffle Winner of the YPA Custom SS Fitteds Raffle (Congrats again Joline!!)

You dye about 4 dozen Prefolds using the LWI method, fall in love with it, and are now frantically looking for other things to dye (pathetic, I know)...

You dye 20 skeins of yarn and still have about 20 skeins to go..

THAT's what happens when I'm busy..

Did I mention that I have the best time ever when doing this??

Pictures, Pictures!!

2007-09-24T09:14:00.000-05:00

It has taking me a little longer then anticipated to get this last batch of Longies on the road to their owners, only because I was waiting for some unscented Lanolin to arrive. In light of the recent issues that are taking place regarding yarns as well as garnments bleeding in certain scents, I thought it best to go unscented altogether. However, you will notice a slight scent when you get your knits, only because I 'spritzed' just a tiny bit of Creamy Lanolin Spray from Sheepish Grins.

Without Further Ado, here they are, in no particular order..lol..

Crystal
These turned out rather adorable. I really like how they decided to stripe on both legs. (Is it BBR??) Anyways, you have a ton of yarn left (I'll have to weigh to see how much, I'd say 2 oz at least, maybe 3), so I'll be getting with you about sending it back or keeping it here for a future project :)

Andrea

Here's your first Year's worth of Wool knit. I think this colorway is just adorable. Of course, my camera stinks at taking pictures indoors, so this picture is nothing like the original..lol... (there's not THAT much green, it just picked the colors up very odd... stupid camera).

Raelynn

See, told you it wouldn't be a big deal to frog it and make it elastic..lol... Here you are, or should I say, here 'they' are, in all of their Beemerknits Bananafish yummyness... (ugh, my camera really does stink...)

Melanie

Look, more Bananafish..lol... one very cute pair of Longies with lightly shaped legs coming right up..lol...

Jen
I have to say, these had to be some of the fastest Longies I've even knit... and I was sweating it too, because the ruffle on the second leg was growing, but the yarn was running out..lol.. I think I ended up with about 2 yards of yarn left after final bindoff... phew..lol

Oh, and the yarn is 'Geranium' by Elliebelly ... isn't it pretty??

All other knits are currently on time or ahead of time...
More custom knit updates in about 7-10 days!!

Customs Update 9/15

2007-09-15T01:36:00.000-05:00

Before I hit the sack, and yes, I've once again stayed up way too long, I wanted to post a quick update on my customs list...

Raelynn, complete, will ship Monday
Crystal, complete, also ships Monday
Jen, estimated completion Tuesday
Melanie, estimated completion Thursday
Andrea, halfway... will complete this weekend, ships Monday if dry

Lori, waiting to hear about waist band ;)
Jeme, ahead of time
Joanna, ahead of time
Carina, ahead of time (but still need your yarn..lol)
Ramona, ahead of time

It looks like my October customs will all be completed by the end of September, possibly first week of October..

I will post another update in about a week!

Please excuse me...

2007-09-10T17:01:00.000-05:00

... while I go bang my head on the desk...

And if you read the blog before this one, just don't mind the typos or general 'mis'use of english grammar..

Ugh..lol

Customs List update Finally

2007-09-10T14:49:00.000-05:00

I know, I've been talking about actually updating my customs list forever now..lol... Well, here it is... Drumroll please!!

This is the first of two YYMN custom slots for one of my favorite Hyenas... Wow, did we have fun with it..lol... this was actually a semi custom dye job, because unfortunately the yarn that was bought and shipped was pretty much unusable (totally not the buyers fault, but I would not have sold this yarn as 'super soft'.. ). I ended up pretty much copying one of the colorways, because it's what she wanted. The second one, <---- I just had fun with. It's my 'Box of Crayons' and I hadn't dyed this one in ages. Black, Shamrock, Sky Blue, Poppy Red, Purple and a Golden Yellow. It's one of my favorites.. this is 'Box of Crayon' with the Curly Purly waist on Certified Organic Merino and big ole' Ruffles... Yummy!!! And no, one leg is not shorter then the other, I'm just not good at taking indoor pics..lol.. (trust me, the picture doesn't do the actually colors of the yarn any justice..lol..

Next up is the colorway I tried to reproduce. I like how it came out. Shamrock Green and Deep Orchid with just the right amount of the natural cream color showing through...

This was dyed on Aran BFL. The waist is elastic, and again, I've added tons of ruffles.. Something is definitely not right with my camera though. It might be time for a new one, thanks to DH who left it in the car on a trip to St Louis a year ago and didn't think 'it would hurt it'... since then it's been taking the worst indoor pics, and once in a while the pictures actually turn out incredibly blurry... this one did..lol

As usually, my Longies have about 1 inch worth of short rows in the rear as well as a crotch gusset for ease of movement.

Ok, this next pair made me sweat.. no seriously. I'm happily knitting away and the skein is getting smaller and smaller and smaller.. Until there was about 2 yards left... and I was at the point where I needed to start the leg cuffs... I let out one huuuge sigh of relief. Even DH, who normally doesn't care when it comes to all things cloth diapers, yarn or knits, had to admit that I couldn't possibly have cut it any closer..lol...

Again, excuse the horrible picture. I just wish my camera would make up its mind... just die already so I can tell DH that we need a new one..lol... ok, don't die, hold out for about another 6 months (not trying to invoke Murphy's Law here..lol)...

I really like this colorway a lot. Dark brown, navy (or is it royal??) blue and grey. Knit with the Curly Purly Waistband (can ya tell I really like this one??), plenty of short rows in the bum and a crotch gusset, these are definitely going to look great paired with just about anything... especially blues and browns!!

The rest of the customs list is dwindling quite rapidly... I think my October Customs will actually be finished in late September..lol... But I'm sure you all won't mind..lol..

Crystal... 1.5 inches to go (have to frog your left leg because I can't read the tape measure and it's about .5 inches short..lol).. getting ready to work on that though ;)
Raelynn... will be completed by Wednesday
Andrea ... should be completed by the Weekend
Lori... starting any day now..lol
Joanna.. ahead of schedule, will update with start date as I get closer
Jen... ahead of schedule
Ramona.. ahead of schedule
Carina... still need measurements!!..lol.. but ahead of schedule :D
Jeme... ahead of schedule...

I'm seriously going to try to get these all out by no later then the first week of October.. And I think this will be a record for me...19 Longies in less then 2 1/2 months...lol.. oy!!

I learned a very important Lesson today!!

2007-08-18T15:41:00.001-05:00

When you are charging the batteries for your digital camera, it actually helps if you plug in the charger...

I guess taking pictures for my gallery will have to wait another hour...lol..

On another note, I'm happy to announce that I am now the proud owner of a stand alone website. On it you will find my Policies, Product Info, Gallery as well as the link to my store.
In case you're interested, the site is hosted with Michelle at Elemental Muse. She actually created this hosting package just for Hyenacart users... How cool is that????

Off to find something to do for an hour..lol

Woohoo!!! School starts one week from today!

2007-08-13T12:49:00.000-05:00

And three of the 4 goobers will be gone until 3 pm every day..... Does it make me sound like a bad Mom that I'm looking forward to my kids being away? I hope not. But having them all on top of one another over a 10 week period is just about as much as I can handle. I'd say by week4 they were bored out of their mind. Doesn't help that summer has decided to make a late entry after all, and it's been over 100 degrees for the past week. Today's high? 105... tomorrow... same thing. I told DH yesterday that the forecast calls for cooler temps by the weekend. Mid-90's... sounds divine..lol

It's been a long weekend. We have a new resident to our already crazy family of hubby, 4 kids, resident Shih-Tzu, two cats, a bunny and a guinea pig. A baby turtle dove fell out of the neighbors tree. All quills, some baby fuzz, and in desperate need of help (especially since he was sitting under the tree in 100+ heat). So he now lives in our old guinea pig cage in a soup bowl padded with wool roving and kitchen towels..lol... he eats about every two hours and is very lively. I'm keeping a photo journal of his growth, taking a photo every couple of days, and once he's all grown up, I want to compile it...

Oh, and apparently I'm Momma. He pretty much figured out right away how to eat from syringe, but only if I do it. He follows me by turning his head when I'm working in the kitchen, and starts chirping when he hears me. DH decided that we should keep him, so I guess it's off to buy him (her?) a nice cage, a nest and supplies...

Welcome to my zoo...lol

(Here's Sam, two days after moving in.. excuse the dirty piece of fabric. Spots are not poop, but hand feeding formula which was quite a messy ordeal at first. Now everything goes into the crop, and none on the towel..lol)

When will I ever learn??

2007-08-09T22:11:00.000-05:00

I decided to move around the furniture in our bedroom today. You need to understand that our bedroom is very long. Apparently the previous owners had someone living with them with limited mobility, so they added on to the master bedroom, made it a lot longer, with very low pile carpet (to allow for wheelchair or walker use maybe?) as well as a handicapped accessible bathroom...

When DH and I moved in, we put our small entertainment center to the left of the room, and a glider rocker and recliner to the right. This was followed by the extra wide bathroom door, and a couple of yards past that, a door to the backyard. We had our bed just parallel to that door. Plenty of room for everything...

Today everything was switched. The entertainment center is now in the corner opposite the back door, and the bed is where the two chairs used to be... Easy, right??

Exept for the fact that we now own a king sized Tempur Pedic. These suckers weigh a TON...

Guess whose back is out??..*rolls eyes*

On the plus side, I really like the way it looks (still want to paint the walls in a sage-ish color, trim white, and it needs a new bathroom and closet doors as well as curtains, only have blinds at the moment)...

Oh, and DH bought dinner since I was working on it literally all day. No cooking for me today..lol.. but I'll be paying for it dearly by tomorrow... Yikes!

Customs List updated (pics to come)...

2007-08-08T18:22:00.000-05:00

I've been a busy bee, that's for sure. And I enjoy myself tremendously knitting for someone else, especially for the YYMN slots. It's always such fun to see what everyone is sending! I even got to work with two of my favorite colorways by Traci at Midnight Spectrum... Springy Spectrum and Sunrise over Pikes Peak... and it's even more fun because they're going to siblings.

Without further ado... here is where I stand as of tonight..

-Lori (YYMN)... Both done, need lanolizing ...you're so lucky I don't have a girl. I'd seriously
consider keeping them for myself..lol.. Waiting on yarn for 3rd YYMN slot,
and can't wait to see if you're going to win the Custom Bananafish Auction..lol..

-Lindsay (trade).. Done, need lanolizing :)

-Kristin... Mia's are complete, just need finishing touch and lanolizing
Wyatt's are almost complete, 1/4 of second leg done, will be finished and ready for
shipping Saturday or Monday :)

-Angie... two soakers down, one to go, will be complete by the weekend

-Kathleen... halfway, should be completed by the weekend (yes, I'm a fast knitter)

-Nadezhda... waiting on hearing from you about second colorway you want me to dye. Once
the yarn is dyed it'll be about 10-14 days for both to be complete :)

-Summer... Shorts are completed, so is the bonus newborn/small soaker ;) Ships Monday (have to go to PO for it!!)

-Amy... dyeing yarn this weekend for 1st 'Years worth of Wool' Longies

-Andrea... hope the move is going well... waiting to hear from you about yarn choice as well
as colorway

-Crystal... your yarn arrived, waiting on finals (take your time hon)

-Kellie... your yarn arrived as well... will let you know when I start :)

Yes, it looks crazy busy, but it really isn't. I'm lucky to have learned how to knit the 'continental' way, so knitting is actually the easy part. I've been known to knit a large pair of Longies in 2 days if I don't get interrupted... but my wrists pay for it after my power knitting sessions...

Anyways, I'll get pictures taken within the next couple of days so you can see your 'pretties' before I ship them off to you.

I hate you, Ravelry!!!!

2007-08-07T19:06:00.000-05:00

You signed up on July 16, 2007
You are #17477 on the list.
9192 people are ahead of you in line.
6294 people are behind you in line.
33% of the list has been invited so far

This seriously sucks... And to top it off, Lindsay just broke the website because she's getting really close. So I can't even snoop now... Thanks Linds... really!!!

I think my business is seriously going to suffer once I'm in though. Between chatting on HC, IMs, other Forums and now Ravelry being just a few short weeks around the corner, I won't get anything done..

Might have to give up sleeping. It's overrated anyways!!!

Move along now... nothing to see!

2007-06-12T00:24:00.000-05:00

Sheesh... It's been two months? Some sad Blogger I am..lol... I can't even blog in my blog on a regular basis.

Well, things have been a little crazy over these last few weeks. Besides the fact that ALL of my boys are home now until August (**eek**), I've been quite busy with Bobby's Baseball practice and games. When I wasn't being hit in the face by a baseball (yes, broke my nose, thanks Bob), I was busy adding things to my store, sewing or knitting.

Thank goodness we only have three regular games left this season, then off to the tournaments, and that's it for the year. Overall I have to say I'm pretty impressed with my youngster. He's the only one on his team of 9 and 10 year olds that has never played baseball before and he's doing fairly well. He still gets frustrated though and seems to think that he knows best... sigh...

That's a boy thing right??..lol

Customs I'm currently working on :)

2007-04-09T10:13:00.000-05:00

Just to keep you up to day, I'll be posting status updates on customs I'm working on at the moment. I've been quite busy and just finished a huge co-op order with Denise's yahoo group, This-end-up. Thanks again Denise, it's been a lot of fun.

Knits

Melissa, will complete tonight
Kim, starting tomorrow
Rhonda, in line
Tasha, in line
Angie, in line

Diapers
Kim, almost complete
Meredith, started cutting
Angie, started cutting
Tasha, 1 down, 2 to go ;)

Happy Easter everyone!

2007-04-08T19:31:00.000-05:00

We spend today at my husband's parents. As usual it was organized chaos to get everything done. Two of our boys needed a hair cut before we left, plus showers for everyone, and on top of that I needed to get a casserole prepared to take with us. Of course that meant that I did most if it myself since my lovely, if sometimes infuriatingly 'lazy' DH decided that the morning was best spent on the couch, snoozing within 2 hours of getting out of bed... Ah, the good life.

Anyways, we now have enough candy to last until Halloween, and thank goodness I'm not on a diet either, cause some of it is quite yummy..lol..