The Adventures of Woolgirl and Abby

Candy, Candy, Who's Got the Candy Contest

Valentine's Day is certainly big on candy, isn't it? From about 6 different types of conversation hearts (there only used to be one type!), to 10 different flavors of the Hershey's Kiss, we certainly have perfected the art of Valentine's Candy. You can even get M&M's in about any color you want now - including the ever popular pink. Love that! Of course they also come in dark chocolate, peanut butter filled, almond filled, etc. We are the land of options, now aren't we?

So, is Valentine's Day the biggest holiday for candy sales in the United States? Well, you would think maybe it is, with all of the velvet-covered boxes of chocolate being purchased to say "I love you" - but in fact, it's not. Truth be told, Valentine's Day only ranks 4th in candy sales overall! Can you believe that?

So, which holiday is considered the biggest sugar-saturated holiday and leads the pack with the most candy sales? Can you guess which one it is? Guess correctly and your name will be thrown into our random name picker (ie, our random number generator) to win a box full of goodies - including about 8 different types of Valentine's Day candy (to celebrate our theme this week), a skein of some of my favorite sock yarn, and a set of knitting cards made by yours truly!

Best of luck! The winner will be announced this Friday!

Also on Friday I'll have some news about our Sunday shop updates along with some fun extras, so we hope to see you back then!

Happy Wednesday!

New and Delicious with a Question for You

We have a few new and delicious items arriving in the shop this Sunday,  including sock yarn dyed by Melissa and Vikki at Family Pendragon.

Family Pendragon Yarns are lovingly created by Melissa and Vikki as both an expression of their passion for color and a wonderful way to make it possible to stay home with their children. Melissa is also a disabled veteran and feels incredibly blessed to have found a way to provide for her family that is flexible enough to accomodate her physical limitations.

Each skein is hand dyed in a method that these two women have created which is as much a study in team work as technique. Like a zen meditation, they work in perfect rhythm using all four of their hands to manipulate the yarn and dye in perfect harmony - often with their babies lovingly worn on their backs. So, when you purchase Family Pendragon Yarn, you are truly getting a little skein full of love!

I am so thrilled to be adding this wonderful sock yarn to the shop, and know that you will love it too! Aren't the colors just gorgeous?

I have also received word that our first order from Blue Ridge Yarns shipped today, so we will possibly have that order in this weekend (but if not it will be the following weekend). I will write more about some other fun additions on Friday of this week, including a completely new Kenya colorway from Madelinetosh, with 100% of proceeds from the yarn donated to the Umoja Uaso Women's Group in Kenya.  

And I pose a question for all of you today, as we highly value your opinions! We are considering adding a line of alternative yarns, which will include milk, corn, and soy in solid colorways. Leave us a comment as to whether or not this might interest you (we would love to hear either way!), and if so, which types of yarn specifically interest you. Out of all of comments we receive, one lucky winner will be chosen on Friday of this week to receive a $20 gift certificate to use in the shop. We look forward to hearing your responses!

Be sure to check back on Wednesday of this week for another fun Valentine's contest! And have a Happy Monday!

Gorgeous

 

I woke up today to the sun shining through my bedroom window.  Woo hoo! In Oregon (where the rain is ever so prevalent during the winter months), having the sun shine means it's going to be a fantastic day! How could it not be, right? It's just absolutely gorgeous! So, I felt it only fitting to focus today's post on 10 gorgeous things/people/places. Warning, there may be a little yarn porn in the paragraphs that follow, so view at your own discretion. And have a fantabulously gorgeous Friday!

1. The picture at the beginning of this post is not my photo, but it is one of Portland on a gorgeous sunny day. I can't think of a more gorgeous place to be right now! So this tops off my list of 10!

2. Chuckanut Drive by Hazel Knits. Since we first received this order from Wendee at Hazel Knits, this has been one of my favorites and I personally feel is one of her most gorgeous colorways. Can the oranges, reds and greens really POP any more than they do in this colorway? WOW!










3.  Patrick Dempsey

I am disappointed to hear that Grey's Anatomy is out of new episodes due to the writer's strike, as it will mean less Patrick on television each week; however, I am so grateful for the abundance of photos on the internet? Is there a more gorgeous face? Yummmm....


4. Rose Garden by Miss Babs. This is one my favorite yarns and colorways - and remember how I mentioned how much I love pink? This colorway speaks pink! Gorgeous!

5. The gorgeous lead in Riverdance (which we just happen to be seeing this week!) I fell in love with the lead in Riverdance when we watched it in Dublin - I expect to do the same here. :)

6. The gorgeous primroses that happen to be the only thing blooming despite the chilling temperatures.

7. Desert Blooms by Yarnahoy. 1250 yards of gorgeous 50% merino/50 silk lace weight yarn. This color brings such a smile to my face with it's rich gold, orange and green.

8. Molten Souffle - in what else? Chocolate! Several places in Portland serve this well...very well, I might add. It's absolutely the most perfectly gorgeous and simple dessert.

9. Romance by Yarn Love. What better and more gorgeous combination can you have? Pink, turquoise, purple, green - and sport weight! My favorite!

10. And to top off the list off gorgeous things this Friday, I've chosen one my most favorite paintings by Georgia O'Keefe...

Pure gorgeous!

And the winner of this week's Valentine's contest is Keitha! Congrats Keitha! You've won some lovely pink sock yarn from the shop, a cute little Valentine's Day knitting accessory pouch, along with lots of conversation hearts!

Stay tuned for our Valentine's Day contest next week, where chocolate is once again involved. Yummmm!

There will also not be a shop update this weekend; however, there will be a fun one on Sunday, February 3rd - with lots of Dream in Color, Pigeon Roof Studios, Family Pendragon, and much more!

Pink, Pink, It's All About the Pink Contest

If you haven't noticed by now, pink is one my favorite colors. I tend to choose a lot of pink(ish) colors for the shop and you can find pink in just about any yarn we offer here at Woolgirl. There's something about the color pink...it never gets old - it just keeps getting more and more in style, doesn't it? I can think of at least 25 things in my wardrobe that have pink in them, at least 10 different things I've knit over time that include pink, and I even dress my dog in pink from time to time (pathetic, I know, but it's the girl in me!) So, if you're like me and looking to add even more pink to your life this Valentine's Day, check out some of these wild and wacky gifts...

A Pink Heart "Wooly Warmer" from "Unique Gifts and Presents that come with a Smile".  It's guaranteed to "melt even the coldest of hearts." What? It actually says this in the ad! 

Need a Valentine's costume? Here's one that just speaks Valentine's Day and screams pink! It's the "Groovy Chick Adult Costume". Now I personally need one of these. :) 

Now Abby would absolutely kill me if I put her in one of these...however, wouldn't it just be so cute?

And this is one of my favorites...a pink keyboard that's flexible? I've got to have this! It's the Bendi Board! What will they come up with next?   

Of course, you couldn't have a Bendi Board without your Shedriver set...a set of screwdrivers for those who love pink....I guess I've always needed a set of these as I do so much around the house. Ha!

And you can now get all new kitchen appliances in pink too! Isn't that exciting? As much as I love pink, I think having my entire kitchen decorated in pink might be a bit much. But, it is available if you want it. :)

And, of course, we have lots of pink yarn in the house, so whether you're looking for some hot pink...

Madtosh Poprocks

Some pinks and reds combined...

Sailor's Delight from Hazel Knits

or a mix of pinks...

Lover's Leap from Whimzy Pinzy

we have it all!

And all this talk about pink makes me crave a fun Valentine's contest! :) How about it? Let's see how you are at some Valentine's Day history trivia!

Valentine's Day is celebrated every year on February 14th; however, Valentine's Day originates from the Roman celebration Lupercalia, which was held on a different date. Do you know which date that was?

We will choose a random winner out of the correct answers. The winner will receive a Valentine heart knitting accessory bag, some pink yarn from the shop, and some of those wonderful little conversation hearts that we all love this time of  year!

Hope you each have a wonderful Wednesday!

And Snuggles Says...

I let Snuggles choose the winner of the Valentine's Day contest this week, as he just gave me those "cute as can be" kitty eyes. I love it when cats do that. And don't you just love how his little nose has a heart shaped pattern on it? Awwww...perfect for Valentine's Day!

Snuggles chose Elizabeth as this week's winner (via his random generator)! Congrats Elizabeth! (I've contacted you via email, so you know you're the winner if you've received an email from me!) You've won some pretty as can be Valentine yarn and of course, some chocolate! I'm also throwing in a couple of other fun things in your package, but as usual, it's a complete surprise. Happy (almost) Valentine's Day!

We are packing up this weekend...cleaning, organizing, cleaning, and more cleaning, as we're getting ready for a move. Oh, did I say move? Yikes! Yes, it's true...we have decided to put our house up for sale and are planning to move out of Portland. I will provide more details as to where and when as we get closer to actually selling our house (ie, have an offer and all of that). Of course, this could take months with the market the way it currently is, but we're keeping our fingers crossed that it sells quickly (ie, within 90 days or so). It goes up for sale on February 1st, so we're really working hard to clean, box up what doesn't need to be in the house, and make everything actually look organized. So, we'll see how it goes as we try to sell our house while running Woolgirl central out of it. (Let's pause a minute while I take a deep breath here and try not to freak out.) Woolboy says that I need to take a deep breath more often and life won't seem so stressful. This, of course, coming from someone who doesn't like to plan more than a day in advance. Maybe I would do well to take his advice, take one day at a time, and not freak out over this whole moving thing. Hmmm....I'll let you know about that in a few weeks. :)

We hope you'll stop by the shop this Sunday, as we have some exciting things we're adding, including the following...

Silver, Silk & Superwash Merino sock yarn from Painted Skeins. This yarn actually has 2% real silver in it! Amazing! Can you see the little sparkles of silver? This just happens to be my favorite color ~ Atlantic. It really is one of the most stunning yarns I've seen, and with 420 yards in a skein, you're set for a gorgeous pair of socks.

Just in time for Valentine's Day, a Heart Sock Kit designed by Alina Egerman with yarn dyed especially for the pattern by Roxanne at Zen Yarn Garden. A fun picot edged heart sock pattern, designed with hearts on the leg and heel of the sock. Sock kits include the gorgeous brown and pink yarn from Zen Yarn Garden and the sock pattern. (pattern will also be available for purchase separately).

 

 

 

 

Self-Striping Sock Yarn from Mama Llama.

New yarns from Yarnahoy, including lace weight, and fingering and sport weight sock yarn. Some of my favorites include...

Water for Chocolate sport weight...

Junoon fingering weight...

and Haveli lace weight...

 

The wonderfully fantastic patterns from Anne at Knitspot.

Lots of new lotions, hand creme, and lip balm from Northern Essence.

and Wool wash from Kookaburra.

I also have lots of odds and ends and one-time colorways from a variety of dyers that I'll be posting...ones that I've been holding on to for awhile...including, but not limited to...

Cherry Blossom Fibers

Lavender Sheep

Mama Llama

Woolarina

and much more!

Snuggles wishes you a Happy Friday with lots of relaxation ahead for the weekend!

The First of Many Valentines...

Because I'm such a huge fan of Valentine's Day, I thought to myself, what better way to celebrate Valentine's Day than to have a series of fun Valentine's contests each Wednesday from today until February 14th (well, actually the 13th of February, as Valentine's Day actually falls on a Thursday this year)? How much fun would that be? This just gives me a chance to spoil some of you with wonderful packages between now and Valentine's Day (that's my real reasoning!)...so, today kicks off the first contest, but more on that in a bit.

I found the most perfect scarf pattern on Larissa's site and realized that my life will not be complete until I knit this scarf. Especially since I was a huge fan of Mabel's in Portland. There's just the little bitty dilemma of which colorway to choose, but that's a good dilemma to have, no? I'm leaning towards one of the following...


Roanoke

Lettuce

or Beige

Big color differences, I know, but each appeals to me in its own way and I think each would look stunning in this scarf pattern. I love this about Malabrigo...so many color options! Aren't they the best? 

I also just started the Zig Zag Mitts from Knitspot in the Vancouver Island worsted from Oceanwind Knits. We will be adding quite a few Knitspot patterns to the shop this Sunday (along with some other fun things!), so I hope you'll stop by! I finished the Hot Waffle Mitts over the weekend, and will post photos of those in the next week or so. What an enjoyable pattern this was...really easy to follow and such a quick knit! Thank you Anne! My mom is going to love these for her birthday in March. I can't believe I actually have something done ahead of time for once! My plan is to knit her and my stepdad (as his birthday is the day after hers) a pair of wrist warmers and scarves, but not sure I'll get all of this accomplished by then. The wrist warmers yes, the scarves, we'll see. My time is running thin these days, and to knit up 2 scarves by early March is, to put it bluntly, a little bit of a stretch (at least I can admit it!) But, I'm not ready to discard the whole idea altogether just yet. We'll see how the next month goes.

So, before I get on to the contest part of things, let me just mention some fun Valentine's Day chocolate trivia. You know how I love Reese's, right? Well, it seems Reese's makes chocolate for every occasion, and Valentine's Day is no exception. We had the Reese's Pumpkin, the Reese's Christmas Tree, and now the Reese's Heart. What will they come up with next? I am just waiting to see if they come out with something for St. Patrick's Day!

Some fun things I found out about chocolate and Valentine's Day when I was researching this week's theme...

• During the year 75% of chocolate purchases are made by women; however, on Valentine’s Day, men account for 75% of the chocolate purchased for that day.
• Chocolate has been around for over 2000 years and started out as a drink.
• Over $1 billion in chocolate is purchased for Valentine's Day each year.
• February 14th was formerly thought to be the first day of bird's mating for the season. This sparked the custom of sending valentines to each other. (Cool! And this relates to chocolate how? Read on...)
• The giving of chocolate, especially luxury chocolates, has become symbolic of Valentine’s Day because chocolate, since it’s earliest days, has been believed to have aphrodisiac qualities. This is most likely the reason men are so apt to give the love of their hearts chocolate on Valentine’s Day. (Awwww!!!!) This still doesn't really make it clear as to how chocolate relates to the first day of bird's mating for the season, but we'll pretend that this relates and go on.

All this talk about chocolate is making me crave some of that Reese's! Gosh! Which leads us to the contest question...

This week's contest is all about chocolate, in fact, it's about chocolate bars. Do you know who developed the first chocolate bar?

Out of the correct answers, we will randomly choose a winner. That winner will receive a fun box of Valentine's Day goodies from Woolgirl, including some Valentine themed yarn and some cute Valentine extras (including some of those Reese's shaped hearts shown above). Yummmmm! The winner will be announced on Friday.

Best of luck and Happy Wednesday! 

From this to this...

I went from spending a fantastic weekend with glorious yarns and great weather (at TNNA) to spending the entire afternoon today with this person...

You know who this is, don't you? Yes, it's the dreaded dentist! I have put off having this dental work done for weeks, in fact a couple of months, and upon return home from TNNA yesterday, I had a friendly message from my dentist, reminding me of my appointment today! Eeek! I spent the night trying to come up with a believable excuse (ie, I came down with a mysterious flu, my plane was delayed and I'm stuck in California, my car has a flat, my dog is sick) but alas, I'm a bad liar and I knew they would see right through any flimsy excuse I could give. Plus, I knew that I needed to go, and that just made it worse.

I think the worst part of the dentist, for me anyway, is getting the shot to numb my mouth. Why do I dread that part so much? Well, I think it has something to do with the fact that they have to give me about 5-6 shots just to numb one tooth. No joke! By the time they're done, my entire head is numb and I'm worthless for the rest of the day. Good thing I had the appointment this afternoon so that I can rest for most of the evening. 

I did want to report on a few TNNA related things, because it was such an exciting and productive trip! We have so many new things coming in the next couple of months (there are way too many to list) and I'm just so excited to share them all with you! More on these in the coming weeks, but here are just a few fun things we will be adding to the shop soon...

Flat Feet by Conjoined Creations

A brand new concept in sock knitting...no skeins, no balls, no tangles...what a neat (and fun) idea!


Sock yarn from the Neighborhood Fiber Company. Each colorway is named after a neighborhood in Washington DC - how cool is that?  Karida is a brilliant dyer and I just know you will love this yarn!

Paca Peds hand-dyed superwash alpaca sock yarn from The Alpaca Yarn Company.  With a blend of 20% alpaca, 65% superwash wool, and 15% nylon, this will quickly become one of your favorite sock yarns!

And yes, we have decided to add Lorna's Laces to the shop. This has always been one of my favorite yarns, and I've really wanted to add it since we opened. So, watch for this yarn (with all of their new colorways) to arrive in the next couple of months!

So many things to list, but we can't spoil all of the surprise all at once, can we? In the weeks to come I will be sharing all of the new things we will be adding...and let me tell you, we have some exciting new yarns and products coming our way! . :)


So, now I'm off to relax for the evening, let my head de-numb (is that a word? if not, it should be!), and will be back again Wednesday for a fun Valentine's contest!

Happy Monday!

It's the Easter Beagle...

 

We have now opened sign-ups for the "It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown" sock kits. A few details about the sock kits...

1. The sock kits will include the following:

• White Oak Studio sock yarn in the "It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown" exclusive colorway
• A Charlie Brown Easter Beagle drawstring accessory bag (we have found the cutest Charlie Brown fabric for these!)
• A coordinating stitch marker
• Sock pattern
• Fun extras included in your package

2. There are only 50 sock kits available this time, so once we have reached this limit, that's it. Sorry about that!

3. The cost of the kit is $50.

4. You will have your choice of fingering or sport weight sock yarn.

5. Payment for the sock kits will be due in mid-February and the kits will be shipped the last week in February.

6. To reserve a kit, email me at jennifer@woolgirl.com. You will receive an email by Sunday of this week as to your status. Don't panic if you don't receive an email from me until then, as I am out of town until Saturday evening, so won't be getting back to email until early Sunday.

We will also continue the Charlie Brown/Snoopy theme throughout the year with two additional kits, one of which will be Joe Cool. But more about that in the months to come...

I will be at TNNA this week, so there may not be a post this Friday (but I may sneak one in...) and there will be no shop update on Sunday; however, back to normal next week, with a fun Wednesday contest and a shop update on Sunday, January 20th!

Also, just a reminder that any orders placed between Thursday - Saturday of this week will ship out on Monday, January 14th.

Happy Wednesday!

 

Bad Influences, Power Outages and Hand Mitts

What a combination, right? These are all major influences in my life today, so I thought, what better to post about?

Anyone who is a parent and has a teenager (especially a teenage daughter), can completely understand and empathize with this cartoon's message. Our daughter has had a series of bad influences over the past few years, and the current one tells us point blank that he really has no ambition and no desire to really do anything in life after high school. My husband and I give each other a knowing glance - as we have heard versions of this before from our daughter's prior bad influences (i.e. boyfriends) - just nothing this blunt. The next thing he said; however, made us both feel so much better about things. He said, and these are his exact words..."at least I can admit that about myself - I know that I don't want to do anything with my life, and that's OK." Yeah, that makes us feel ALOT better. Ha!

The stress of having a teenager has really gotten to us these past few months, especially since our daughter is almost 18 and every other word out of her mouth is "I'm almost 18". Just let that day be here already! (That day is March 7th), so not too far away. It's like they want all of this independence, yet they don't really want as much independence as they think they do - like the responsibility of paying bills, buying groceries...you know, that sort of thing.

We had a major power outage on Friday and then again today, so needless to say we have been without power in the past couple of days more than we've had it, and have been living by candlelight. I'm sorry to say that this does affect orders that were placed in the past few days - for those of you who placed an order Friday or Saturday (today) - your order may have shipped out Friday, but most likely shipped out today or will ship Monday. Thank you all for your patience! Our power company has assured us that the problem is now fixed, so we're hoping it stays this way!

We will soon be carrying patterns from Anne at Knitspot, and if you haven't tried any of her patterns, you seriously should consider it. They're amazing! I started the Hot Waffles Mitts this last week and the first one is done and ready for the second to be started. I'm using Dream in Color Classy in the Ruby River colorway. What a fun and quick knit!

And I must mention that the winner of the New Year's Eve contest this week is Shawna! I will be in touch soon Shawna to discuss your winnings! :)

Hope you each have a wonderful weekend!

What did you do for New Year's Eve?

My New Year's Eve was spent packaging orders and preparing for our dreaded inventory this week, but there was some light at the end of the tunnel. We had some family and friends over later in the day, which meant that I spent some time baking in the kitchen (my favorite thing to do!) in preparation for our guests...

AND, because sweets are my absolute favorite, we had a little of this....

and a little of this....

oh, and we had some of these...which are another of my favorites!











There's nothing better than spending time with family and friends on New Year's Eve (or any holiday for that matter)! We also played some Scene It on the X-Box - which is a super fun party game! Have any of you played this? It's a game that's based entirely on movie trivia and scenes, which happens to be right up my alley, as I'm a huge movie buff. It was really a lot of fun! Each person gets a buzzer to buzz in their answers - add to that a few drinks, and you have a party! :)

So, what did you do for New Year's Eve? I would love to hear what you did - did you spend the evening in, did you have company over to your house, or did you spend the night out on the town - or none of the above? So leave us a comment about what YOU did that day/evening, and 2 lucky completely random winners will win some goodies from the shop. Winners will be announced this Friday on the blog.

A reminder....our New Year's Sale will start this Friday, where lots of items in the shop will be discounted from 10%-40%. See you then!

Happy Wednesday!