The Adventures of Woolgirl and Abby

Follow the Yellow Brick Road Wednesday

Follow the Yellow Brick Road! Follow the Yellow Brick Road! Follow the, follow the, follow the, follow the, follow the Yellow Brick Road!

You must remember the words to one of the popular songs in the Wizard of Oz, right? This week is all about the Wizard of Oz, as we have a new line of yarns coming in from Curious Creek Fibers with a whole new set of colors called the "Oz" series, and boy are they yummy!









We welcome "Meru" to Woolgirl this Sunday! "Meru" is the new 51% Wild Tussah Silk/49% Merino Wool lace weight yarn from Curious Creek Fibers, and it's super fantastic to knit with. And with 495 yards per skein and just $22-24 per skein (depending upon the colorway), it's a super great deal too!

Maybe you'll want to try your hand at knitting the Cloud scarf by Lucy Neatby. Check out how gorgeous it is in the new Emerald City "Meru"...

And as a side note...one skein of "Meru" is more than enough to knit the Cloud scarf.

Remember the Tin Man?

and the Good Witch? (I think this is my favorite color!)

and Scarecrow...we can't forget him!

and another of my favorites is, of course, Yellow Brick Road...

Be sure to check out the series this Sunday at Woolgirl! We will also have several other new colorways from Curious Creek available (more on this Friday), as well as some of the Fraternal Twin Socklet kits and the Fair Isle Footlets.

Oh, and because I'm such a HUGE Wizard of Oz fan, we're having an "Oz" contest today too. :) How fun is that? And how well do you know your Wizard of Oz trivia? "We'll see about that, my pretty, now won't we?" Ha! Ha!

OK, so here's the question:

Remember the pretty colored horses in the Emerald City? What substance was used to color them in the movie? A hint: It's food related!

Get this answer correct, and you could win a fun prize from Curious Creek Fibers AND there will be 2 winners this week! What are the winning prizes, you ask? The first winning prize is a fantastic "Meru" sampler which includes a sampler of 16 colors, including the "Oz" colorways, totaling almost 600 yards (imagine what a fun project you could create with this!)...

and the 2nd prize is a "Wasonga" sampler (also from Curious Creek) and also with 16 colors. This sampler has enough yarn to knit the fantastic Fair Isle Footlets or Fraternal Twin Socklets (and the patterns will be included)...

Both winners will also receive some soaps from Woolgirl (and we've got some wonderful soaps right now!)

Happy "I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore" Wednesday!

Memories of Nebraska...

I still have memories of Nebraska on my mind...the quiet (but ever so persistent) breeze that seemed to be present at all times, the endless stretches of cornfields and combines getting ready for the summer season, and the sweet smell of BBQ'd food every single night. I guess I'm just a true country girl at heart, as I'll eat anything (absolutely ANYTHING) BBQ'd. :) The more BBQ'd the better in my opinion.

As promised, I'm posting photos of my completed project last week...the baby sweater I have been working on "off and on" for the past 2 weeks and then presented to little baby Zane last week. Of course, it's too big for him still, but sweaters are best with just a little room to grow, right? :) Introducing the Baby Zane sweater (or as my aunt likes to call him, the future Dr. Zane...yes, she has high hopes for her first born!)

The sweater started out as the Tulip sweater from DIC, but with boy colors, and then I made lots of adjustments throughout to make it a bit more unique. For instance, I added snaps down the front instead of an I-cord tie at the top. I also added a little hood at the top (although you can't see it in the photo).

I also ribbed the bottom of the sweater, which isn't called for in the pattern.

This was my one project that I'll be posting for a little while, as I'm back in the test knitting mode (which means no posting about) and will be working on something for the next few weeks....but after that, I feel a shawl coming on. A nice summer shawl for those cool evenings.

And also as promised, here's that fantastic Runza recipe that I so love and have passed on to several people over the years, who now love them as much as I do. Give them a try! You'll be sure to be a Runza addict soon...

Easy Runza Squares

Dough:
1 c. warm water
1 pkg active dry yeast
1/4 c. sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 egg
2 Tbsp butter (melted and cooled)
3 1/4 c. flour

Filling:
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1/2 c. chopped onion
3 c. shredded cabbage
1/2 c. water
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Dash of Tabasco

Dough directions: Mix water, yeast, sugar and salt. Stir until dissolved. Add egg and melted butter. Stir in flour. Refrigerate four hours. Divide dough in half and press one half into greased 9x13 inch pan.

Filling directions: Brown meat and onion. Pour off grease. Add cabbage, seasonings, and water and simmer; covered, 15-20 minutes. Cool completely before putting on dough. When cool, place on dough pressed in pan. Pat remaining of dough on lightly floured surface into 9x13 inch rectangle and place on top of filling. Back 20 to 25 minutes at 350 deg. Bake on low rack of oven. Remove from oven and brush top with melted butter.

Enjoy!

Be sure to stop by tomorrow too, as we have our "Follow the Yellow Brick Road" contest....

See you then!

Nebraska it was....

For everyone who guessed Nebraska for last week's contest, you were correct! My mom and I spent 5 wonderful days and nights in Palmer, Nebraska this past week....which, for those of you who don't know Nebraska at all (and even maybe for those that do!), Palmer is a tiny blip on the map about 30 miles north of Grand Island (which is in central Nebraska). Basically, it's in the middle of absolutely nowhere (see photo above).

The wonderful thing about being in the middle of nowhere is this...it's completely quiet! No internet or email for 5-6 days is absolutely wonderful. I thought I would go stir crazy, but in fact it had the complete opposite effect...I actually relaxed! I can't believe it myself, actually. I slept in until 10 or 11 am each day, took naps, got some knitting time in (will post knitting photos on Monday), and actually read a couple of books. Hey, I think I can get used to this life!

We also saw so many of our family members...almost everyone we know lives in Nebraska, so it was quite fun to see everyone and reminisce about old times. Also, my aunt (who is nearly the same age as me) had her first baby, so we got to spend lots of time with him too and we had a baby shower. He's such a cutie! Meet little Zane...

It almost (not quite, but almost!) made me wish I had a little one around here. I did say almost...right? :)

And, of course, I had to pick up some the stuff that I always get when I go to Nebraska....

Some cool new comfy pants...



 

Some Runza's (For those of you who are interested in the actual Runza recipe, I will be posting this on Monday of next week, so get your pans ready to cook up some culinary goodness! :)....

A little t-shirt for Abby (isn't this just adorable?)...

and my absolute favorite thing in the entire world...the Twin Bing candy bar! Have you had one of these before? If not, you need to experience one at least once in your life. They are the absolute best candy bar ever! Some of these will be going out in orders here and there in the next few weeks....

This was a good trip, a relaxing trip, and a productive trip. :) And, I'm glad to be back.

The winner of last week's contest is Helen! I will be in touch about your winning loot Helen! :)

There will be a small shop update this Sunday, which will include Miss Babs yarn (with a few new colorways) and Knitspot patterns.

Hope you each have a wonderful weekend! And hope you visit us next week, as we're having an "off to see the Wizard" contest (that's the only clue I'm giving!)

Off the radar and off to distant lands...

I have been a bit off the radar these past few weeks with blogging (and with everything in general, it seems)...I am just now climbing out from the piles on and around my desk. This is Abby, on her back, looking at me from underneath my desk! Poor girl...what she will do for attention these days! :)

I wanted to let everyone know that due to some much needed R&R in my life, I have decided to take a mini-vacation, of sorts, with my mom, and we will be flying off to distant lands this Friday, April 25th. Where will we be heading? Well...this is the topic of today's post! As you know, we like to hold our contests on Wednesdays, and because today is Wednesday, I decided it would be an excellent day for a contest. What do you think?

So, the question for today is...where do you think we're flying off to this week? Guess correctly and you could win yourself some lovely Miss Babs sock yarn (this is a hint that more is coming in soon - new colors!), along with a little something that commemorates where I'm going this week (of course, this will be a surprise until I return, but it will be good, I promise).

So, shall I give you some hints? I mean, you can't guess blindly, can you? I know you're all good, but I don't think you're THAT good....

Here are just a few hints...

1. It is in the continental United States.
2. Where we're going has corn...lots and lots of corn (but there are a lot of states that have corn, right?).
3. I am definitely eating a Runza while we're there. Don't know what a Runza is? I'll bet Google knows it.
4. Buffalo Bill is in this state's Hall of Fame (this just might give it away).
5. Most of my relatives live in this state.


I think these clues should give you a slight idea of where I'm going this week. If not, take a wild guess! We love guesses around here. I will announce the winner on next Friday's blog post (Friday, May 2nd).

I will be gone from Friday, April 25th - Wednesday, April 30th, but the shop will remain open during this time and everything will be handled by Woolboy (aka Kevin). Any orders placed on Friday, April 25th and Saturday, April 26th may not ship out until Monday, April 28th, but everything else should run as normal! Woolboy may even include little treats in your orders while I'm gone! He has been known to do this in the past...I will also not have access to a computer while I'm away (which is a good thing!), but please feel free to email if you have any questions or need anything, as Woolboy will be answering emails while I'm gone too. 

I plan to rest, visit family, (oh, and did I mention rest?), knit, maybe rest a little more, knit, and finish it off with more rest. And when I return, there will be lots of goodies coming in...

Like Miss Babs (with new colors), Curious Creek (the Oz series), Mama Llama, Neighborhood Fiber, The Unique Sheep, Macek Designs, Madelinetosh, Namaste bags and much more!

Happy Wednesday!

Sheep "stuff" collector

OK, I am not ashamed to say it, I am a sheep "stuff" collector. Yep, it's true, I do like to collect anything which has sheep on it, in it, or is in the shape of a sheep. Even something that says the word "sheep" would be fair game in my book of collecting. Like this little guy above. Isn't he cute? If you click on the photo, you will notice that he's holding a little bag of wool in his mouth....how cute is that?

And this little beanie "thingamajig" in the photo below (he's the one on the right), which actually is supposed to be a little sheep...and guess what? He's knitting! If you don't believe me, click on the closeup!

This is actually one of those old toys (not sure how old!) called a Mighty Bean. It has a little magnet of sorts in it, which makes it move around in a sort of funny manor, but it's cute...and more importantly, it's sheep.

The little guy on the left (in the photo above) is an antique toy also...I'm actually missing the other animals to this set (there should be a cow, pig, horse, etc), but it's important to note that I do have the sheep, even though he is missing his right ear. :)

Oh, and isn't this little sheep bobble head cute? It's an old McDonald's toy, if you can believe that, and it's such a sweet little sheep. And I'm proud to say that it's in my sheep collection. :)

And then, of course, there's Curls, who works with me each day...

And Twirls who lives in the yarn room...

And Betsy and Fred...

and the list goes on and on...

So yes, I'm a sheep "stuff" collector and I'm not ashamed to say it. How many of you are sheep stuff collectors, or are you collector of something else? I'd love to hear what's in YOUR collection!

We're having some fun shop updates this Sunday...the Zen Yarn Garden has arrived and we are soooo excited! The colors are even more wonderful in person (thank you Roxanne!), and we'll have fingering weight, sport weight, and seacell!

Here's a little sneak peek...

Florida Keys

King Orchid Spider

Irish Spring

Pink Kitty (my absolute favorite!!!)

Oregon Coast

Honeycomb

Retro Boogie

and many more!!!!!!

Plus, we'll also be adding a few additional yarns (depending on what arrives between now and Sunday), as well as some patterns and little extras, so be sure to stop by this Sunday!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Manic Monday

This is me (minus the little one on the right) today and probably all day tomorrow and the next . The packages, the dog, the crazy panicked look on the face...all me.

Amongst packaging 300 sock club boxes this weekend, I once again decided to add more chaos to my life by holding our 1 year anniversary sale on the exact weekend that our first sock club packages are being shipped. Of course, I HAD to hold the anniversary sale on our 1 year anniversary, didn't I? :) Of course I did! It could not have waited until...let's say, this week sometime, AFTER the sock club has shipped, right? And to top all of this off, my SIL (who is our new worker bee) was out of town on vacation all weekend. Yikes! It's like craziness times 100 around here, but in a good way, as I am surrounded by yarn 24/7. That is always a good thing.

Despite all of this temporary craziness, we had the sale and it was a was a wonderful sale. Thank you to everyone who stopped by this weekend! Thank you, thank you, thank you for your awesome support over the past year, and we look forward to having many more years of anniversary sales!

Please note: All orders that were placed this weekend (April 11-13) will have a slight delay on shipping. We are getting the orders shipped out as fast as we can, and all orders will be shipped by at least Wednesday of this week. Normally we ship orders the same day or next, but this weekend is an exception. We THANK YOU for your patience!

We had some lucky winners this weekend too...remember I said that we would give out some fun prizes to those who placed the 15th, 30th, 50th, 75th and 100th orders and that we would announce those winners today? Well...drumroll please...here they are:

1st order (we decided to add this one):  Janelle Breson
15th order: Michelle Glantz
30th order: Diane Bateman
50th order: Melissa Hartman
75th order: Melissa Bishop
100th order: Jessica Eastin

All told, we had over 160 orders this weekend! Thank you again to everyone who stopped by!

If your name is listed above, please note that I will be sending you a prize in the mail sometime this week (which could arrive early next). It will be mailed separately from your order.

I'm off to package your orders! Have a wonderful week!

Happy One Year Anniversary!

Today is our One Year Anniversary! Woo hoo! I can't believe it's been a year already...I personally feel that it's flown by (my DH, on the other hand, feels like we've already been in business for years). Ha!

If you haven't noticed already, we have a huge Anniversary Sale going on, with everything in the shop at least 10% off or MORE! So head on over to Woolgirl this weekend...the sale runs through 11:59 PM on Sunday, so get some great deals while you can!

There are also prizes...check out details here. All prizes given out over the weekend will be announced on Monday's blog.

Please NOTE: All orders placed today (April 11th) - Sunday (April 13th) will be shipped on Monday, April 14th. We thank you for your patience on a slightly delayed shipping schedule during this busy time.

We have a winner to announce too! Thank you to everyone who entered the Yarntini contest! Yarntini will be here soon...keep an eye on the blog for more details. The winner of the Yarntini contest is Linda! Linda, I have contacted you via email regarding your loot! :)

Thank you to each and every one of you for all of the support you've given us this last year! Woolgirl is not Woolgirl without each of you!

Happy Weekend!

Yarntini Wishes Contest

Yarntini.....

Is there any name sweeter? Not in my book! We all know what this contest means....Yarntini is on it's way to us soon - in the next week or so. Each time Yarntini arrives, we celebrate with a contest, so this time is no exception. This time you will win a skein of Yarntini in your choice of colorway (out of the colorways we are receiving this time around). Sounds exciting, eh?

I decided that this contest didn't need any special "internet searching" skills or knowledge. No, for this contest we just want to hear your ideas. That's it! But you must enter in order to win! :)

We would love to know which Yarntini colorway you would choose if you win the contest, and which sock pattern you have in mind for it? That's it...it's as simple as that! All entries will be thrown into our special hat randomizer on Friday morning and the winner will be announced on Friday's blog. We look forward to hearing from each and every one of you about your Yarntini wishes!

A few other notes...

As you know, our 1 Year Anniversary Sale starts this Friday, April 11th at 12:01 AM Pacific Standard Time and continues through Sunday, April 13th at 11:59pm. 10-20% off everything in the shop! Be there or be square! :) And there will be prizes...the 15th, 30th, 50th, 75th, and 100th (if we have that many!) order this weekend win special prizes, and they just keep getting better the greater the number. I will email you individually if you are one of those winners, and all winners will be announced on Monday's blog.

Secondly, if you were unable to get a Flat Feet when we had them posted a couple of weeks ago, check them out here. I personally know that Pam has posted about 25 of them in the shop today, so get them while they're still there, as I know they are going fast!

Happy Wednesday!

One Year Anniversary Approaching Fast!

This Friday, April 11th, is our One Year Anniversary....can you believe it? I find it hard to believe myself! Have we really been around a whole year? I guess so!

To celebrate our One Year Anniversary, and as a special "thank you" to every single one of YOU who has made our first year so special....we are having a SALE!!!! Yep, this Friday, April 11th, we're having 10-20% off EVERYTHING in the shop! This will be a 3-day only sale (Friday, Saturday, Sunday), so be sure to stop by the shop for some great savings!

The sale will start at 12:01 am on Friday morning, and will run through 11:59pm on Sunday evening. You might see some fun little items in your orders too throughout these three days, and some prizes...you know how I like to have fun with that, so be sure to check out the blog this Friday for more details.

And this Wednesday we're going to have a Yarntini contest. Yes, this means that Yarntini is on it's way here as we speak, and the lucky winner of Wednesday's contest will win a skein of Yarntini. Can you get any better than that?

Hope you each have a wonderful Monday! Is it sunny in your neck of the woods? It's rainy here...

I've Been Bitten...

By the Three Irish Girls bug...

Adara is calling my name...

Barret keeps whispering sweet nothings in my ear...

Donegan is forever in my memory...

And Kelly...need I say more about Kelly?

I can't seem to keep my eyes off Byrne...

And Florry....oh, Florry is the new light of my life!

Isla is exquisite and rich....

While Rory and Nora are...well...simply put: "stunning"
(to say the least)...

Yep, it's true. I've been bitten by the Three Irish Girls bug. And I don't make apologies whatsoever. :)

The winner of our "Canary" contest this week is Brook! I have sent you an email Brooke, so watch your box for that! :)  The answer, for inquiring minds that want to know, was FACT.

There will be a few updates in the shop this Sunday, including some cute hat kits from The Alpaca Yarn Company, soaps and lip balms by Naiad , Patterns by KnitSpot and Zephyr, and some accessories.

In the next couple of weeks we will have Zen Yarn Garden, Yarntini, Neighborhood Fiber Company, and much more! So stay tuned!

Happy Weekend!