Wordless Wednesday - This is what alpaca poo does to a garden!

More Wordless Wednesday here and here.

I am a little late to the party, but hey, at least I made it :D!

My good looming friend Bethany is having a party over on her blog to celebrate her bloggy anniversary. She's having a question and answer round robin type game happin' right now. If you stop on over, copy and paste the questions into your own blog and link back to her, who knows, maybe you'll score a cool prize? Here's my answers:
1. What was your age when you first discovered your love of yarn? I was eight. What (or who) was it that introduced you to all that fibery goodness? My grandmother was an occomplished fiber artist. She knit and/or crocheted all of her gifts for every birthday and every Christmas gift. I suppose it all rubbed off onto me :-)
2. If you could sit down with anyone in the world to have a little knit along, who would it be? I think I would choose Denise. Why? Besides having a great sense of humor, she also has a great creative mind that, as she said once about someone she admired, I would love to mind meld with her for awhile.
3. What is your favorite comfy place or position in which to work with yarn? I usually sit on the couch next to my laptop and my side end table (where I keep all of my yarny supplies). I like to have quick access to the internet in case I need to do research on a technique or I need to write a quick question on yahoo or Ravelry or go look for inspiration.
4. Like our heroin in the story below, do you ever dream about soft fuzzy goodness? Or how to do a particular technique you’d never thought of while awake? Oh, I am always dreaming about creating something or other. I have been dreaming of spinning lately and that doesn't get anymore yarn related than that!
5. What type of loomer/knitter/crocheter are you? Do you like long involved projects, or quickies full of fast satisfaction? Quick and near instant gratification!
6. Have you ever guiltily postponed dinner due to your involvement with a project? Oh gee, everyday?
7. What is your ultimate goal in your yarn life? To be able to spin perfect yarn. My current goal is to spin enough alpaca to make sufficient projects I can sell at my Alpaca Farm Tour coming up real soon September 28th and the 29th.
8. Do you have a favorite snack you like to munch while working with yarn? I actually find I don't eat when I work on my yarny crafts. I miss my meals and everything. I of course get food for my kids, but I don't take the time to eat when I am in the middle of working on something I am trying to work out or something that I am getting close to finishing. So, I would suppose the answer to that question would be no.
9. What is your all time most favorite yarn tool/accessory that you absolutely could not live without? My drop spindle.
10. What is your favorite movie? Walk the Line (what a true love story from one of my favorite musical artists)!
11. What is your favorite book as an adult…and what was yours as a child? They are the same: The Holy Bible
12. What are you working on right now with your yarn? Oh my goodness, what am I not working on would be easier! I am crocheting numerous hats with my handspun, this dress I am making with hairpin lace for my highschool reunion, slippers I am wet felting, jewelry I am making out of wetfelted beads from my handspun yarn, this shawl from hairpin lace from my handspun, I have a sweater I am designing and loom knitting that is something like 2/3rds done, and a loom knit dishcloth I designed for a Breast Cancer Awareness Dishcloth Calendar. I also have lots of projects I've completed but haven't stitched up yet or felted yet.
13. Is there a special project that you’ve been just dying for someone (or yourself) to design? I have lots of designs I have drawn out and even computated the stitches but have not had a lick of time to work out (i.e. socks). 14. Did someone invite you to join in on the party today? Why Bethany did!

Friday Fill-Ins

1. I believe whatever doesn't kill you now sits in your body and will eventually rear its ugly head someday and cause cancer or some other deadly disease.

2. If you're good at something, turn it into what you do for a living because it will be the best job you ever have and you will never feel like you are working.

3. Why so silly?

4. Something is out there, it's obtainable for those that set their minds to it.

5. If my life were a sitcom soap opera, it would be titled All My Children.

6. Sitting on my back porch [if you don't have one, use your imagination] I see our back 40, the alpaca barn, and sometimes I see the alpacas grazing in the back pasture.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to finishing up a dishcloth design I am doing for a calendar for Breast Cancer Awareness, tomorrow my plans include going to a family picnic and Sunday, I want to get back into the garden!

Hankerin for hairpin lace and a petition to save Knitty Gritty

I have recently taken a fancy to hairpin lace. I even purchased this most amazing, beautiful dress pattern by the very talented Jennifer Hansen from StitchDiva.com. It's to be my dress for my upcoming highschool class reunion later this summer. I am totally excited and am well on my way to making this gorgeous dress. As a customer of stitchdiva.com you also get a monthly newsletter, and in the most recent newsletter there was a petition to save a great show that I personally believe has taken knitting from being an old and stuffy craft to being a hip and vogue art for many young women and yes, even men. It has made knitting cool. If you think the same and you just can't bare to see it go, please stop on over and sign the petition to save Knitty Gritty!

Friday Fill-Ins, whew, it's been a tough day!

1. If I could be a fly on the wall I wouldn't be since I hear enough whinning and complaining from each of my two stepdaughters talking about the other.

2. Jealousy is driving me crazy in my family! My two stepdaughters are so jealous of eachother, they fight constantly and I just can't stand it anymore.

3. When I see a shooting star my wish would be that everyone would love and respect everyone they meet and love and respect themselves too.

4. I'd rather be happy, happy, joy, joy than angry and upset (like today) any day!

5. Certain songs when I hear them make me wanna cry.

6. If time were in a bottle I'd pour it out quickly on days like today.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to time away from my two fighting stepdaughters, tomorrow my plans include still more time away from them (hee, hee) and Sunday, I want to do something fun!

Friday Fill-Ins and a pretty rainbow

1. Oh, I can't wait until I have a drum carder.

2. The milk usually is the first thing I see when I open my refrigerator.

3. I never leave home without my purse.

4. If I were a condiment, I would be mustard because if you spill me on your cloths, on the table, or anywhere, I leave a permanent mark.

5. Food crumbs on my kitchen floor is really high up on my list of pet peeves.

6. The last thing I thought of before I went to bed was oh I hope we don't have a tornado warning during the night.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to getting safely to my brother's house in southern Minnesota without running into some terrible storms, tomorrow my plans include visiting with my mom and dad and brother and Sunday, I want to get back home safely to see my kiddos and hubby!

We've had some rocky weather lately. I took this photo a few days ago after a particularily violent storm passed through:

Wordless Wednesday - Daddy playing with the girls after he got home from work!

More Wordless here and here.

So I am an angel after all?

I found this over on Isela's blog. I would have thought I was more sinful than this, but apparently I am rather close to Godliness (yeah, right!) From the looks of it I I should go exorcise some demons from the Purling Dervish.

You Are 20% Evil

You are good. So good, that you make evil people squirm. Just remember, you may need to turn to the dark side to get what you want!

How Evil Are You?

M is for Meme since I've been chasing 6 kids and spinning like a crazed lunatic!

Yes, I feel like a dog chasing it's tail in more ways than one lately...having all the kids home from school all day everyday gets me no where fast and I am getting overly dizzy and awefully pooped out. Man, they have a lot more energy than I do, I'll be 40 next year! Plus, I am spinning like a crazed lunatic and if you stare at that wheel or whorl long enough, you'd get dizzy too :D

I looked forward to summer all winter and spring and now I can't wait for fall. My farm tour will be over and done with and I can take my time spinning and truly enjoy it. The kiddos will be back in school (only one little one will be left at home all day) and I can maybe complete a simple thought. I have had a lot to say lately and no time to say it or I lose the thought all together. I started a couple posts and ended up trashing them since they were out-of-date. So, memes are where it's at for me this summer. I found this one over on Boogie Knits, she tagged all that read the post so...

Until fall:

1. Where was I 10 years go.
I was an Art Director for an advertising agency in downtown Denver, CO. Oh, I loved the job! So much creative stimulation!

2. 5 things on today’s to-do list
- Clean the house
- Make fruit pizza for 4th of July party
- Make veggie salad for 4th of July party
- Finish the mounds of laundry
- Finish up the rolags I made last night in order to ship to mom for hats she is making for the farm tour
- Clean out Paige's cloths bin and sort out cloths that doesn't fit and put in goodwill boxes and then use the bin to clean out the living room closet filled to the brim with toys
- Make supper
- Do alpaca chores
- Go to bed at midnight?

Oops, that's more than 5 things!

3.Snacks I enjoy
Popcorn; cottage cheese and mandarin oranges; carrots; peanut butter toast; nuts; fresh fruit

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire.
Travel; travel; travel

5. Places I have lived.
Minnesota; Nebraska; Colorado; Minnesota again

6. Jobs I have had.
Graphic artist; website designer; illustrator; Art Director; Marketing Assistant; Sales Assistant; Mother; business owner/co-owner; Alpaca Rancher

7. Who would I like to know more about.
All of you. If you read this consider yourself tagged or not. Just let me know in a comment if you decide to do it.