Ugh.  The entire post that I just wrote completely disappeared and once again I cannot get pictures to show up properly.  I really don't feel like writing everything again so I'll try to summarize for ya. 

Apparently the shop launch did not go very well from a customer stand point, and for that I am very sorry.  Our main concerns were to keep the site from crashing and to make sure that all payments made were secure.  Those are taken care of so from now on we can concentrate on making the site easier to get to, easier to navigate, and just plain fun to visit.  Mr.yarntini and I headed off on a much needed and very belated honeymoon to Paris next week so things will be quiet around here until the middle of August.  I'm hoping to get some yarn up in the shop before we leave though so keep an eye out for that.

I really want to give away some yarn so although I'm terrible at coming up with contest ideas, here goes.  In honor of tonight's book launch I'll make this one Harry Potter themed.  All you have to do is tell me your favorite moment from the Harry Potter book series.  I guess try to keep it contained to the first six books for now to avoid spoiling the new book for anyone.  And if you haven't read the books, I'd love to know how you managed to not get sucked in!  Everyone that comments will be entered to win some yarntini yarn and other goodies and to try to make up for any headaches, anyone that commented on the last post will be entered twice.  Comments will be accepted through August 12th. 

Have fun at any Harry Potter parties you may be attending tonight and enjoy the weekend! 

Posted by jessie at 01:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (70) | TrackBacks (0)

Finally winter has actually turned into winter and it's snowing! Being from Florida, I never thought I would say that but after the seemingly weeks and weeks of rain, snow is a really nice change. Hopefully a little bit of sun will soon follow!

And finally my computer woes are over! Atleast for now... god, I am such a pessimist :(. Thanks to a goddess named Tira, I have a brand new computer in my possesion! Brand new, I can't believe it! It was a bit of a fight, but totally worth it if this one is ANY better than the old one. And when I say "old", I had purchased it (new) only about six months ago so therein lies my frustration. But thankfully I found a wonderful person to help and now it's business as usual.

We have a winner! Two, actually! I felt so bad about postponing the contest and I had so many great comments that I went ahead and picked two people to get some fun after-holiday goodies. Andrea and Melissa should be getting their packages very soon. I hope you like them! Thank you so so much to everyone that left me a comment. It was really great reading about what y'all made (or didn't make ;))!

I don't have much knitting to show. I've been dyeing like crazy trying to catch up from the holidays and I have one of those "secret projects" that I've seen mentioned so many times on other blogs. I've started a sweater from Vogue Knitting Fall 2006. The cabled cardigan that you may have seen at cosmicpluto. Hers is amaing and although mine has been toseed aside for the moment I can't wait to pick it up again. I'm using a fabulous 100% merino from laines du nord that I got from pureknits. Since I don't have anything new, I'll show you a couple of my favorite gifts that I made for Christmas. Both hats, hats were the name of the game for my holiday knitting!

This was a simple top-down hat that I made for a friend obsessed with monkeys. It's extra large cause he complained about never being able to find a hat that fit his big melon. Funny thing is, I think it ended up too big! The yarn is also Laines du Nord from pureknits, the chunky weight. I managed to get two hats out of three balls. knit on size 9 needles. The fabric was nice and dense and super warm. After I knit it, I stitched on a felt sock monkey. Just simple shapes with a little puffy paint for the eyes. I love how it turned out!

As soon as Yahaira put up the yak yarn at pureknits, I was totally lusting after it. The price threw me but I finally caved and couldn't be happier. You get amazing yardage and the quality is unbelievable. I have yet to knit with 100% cashmere, but after knitting with the yak I don't feel like I'm missing out. I finished my husband's hat with plenty to spare and as soon as I get a chance I'm definitely making a beanie for myself! I haven't checked recently but if Y gets in any more of the earth color, I might have to get another skein to make some matching mitts!

Ooh, I can finally show you something else! Jo at misocrafty made me this amazing pouch to give to a friend. I told her that I wanted a piratey-type fabric and the next thing I know she's emailed me dozens to choose from! I love love love how it came out! Sometimes getting the perfect present can be stressful but this was NOT one of those times! Thank you, Jo!

You may have noticed that I have no links in this post, so I have a question for all the computer savvy-type readers. Usually there is a bar where I write my posts that has the link icon and a couple others for simple formatting (I think that's the right word). Well, it's not there and I have no idea how I can link. I use Movable Type and if anyone has any idea, I would really appreciate the help. My husband has no clue and I've looked everywhere I can think of. Please help! Thanks!!

One last thing... please check out Stacey's blog, www.peaknit.blogspot.com if you haven't already. I sent her a skein of my semi-solid colorway, port, and asked if she could knit up a little something for a sample. Well, I expected a simple pair of socks or mitts, and she ended up going way above and beyond and made an absolutely gorgeous swallowtail shawl. It's amazing!!!

Posted by jessie at 10:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBacks (0)

ARGH! Computer problems again! I'm not even going to spout hatred for the TWO computers that I've had to return in the past year because I know it has something to do me. I have ZERO luck when it comes to anything that needs to be plugged in. As soon as it comes into this house, if it's electronic, it will begin a slow death that will cause much headache and frustration. When will my luck change??!!

Found out last week that my laptop needed to be sent away for a complete replacement. In waiting for my husband to get home and help me burn all my info onto a disk, it crashed again. And now it needs to be taken in to see a *genius* (don't even get me started there) to hopefully salvage said info before I can ship it. So anyway, all this is going to postpone the contest just a bit. I've been having to approve each comment before it gets posted and I know that with the latest computer fiasco I've probably missed a few. I want to make sure that everyone gets counted and has a chance to win. I'll include all comments up to the point that all this gets figured out, so keep them coming :). I'm so sorry for the trouble but I promise that I'll make sure the prize is worth it!

Thank you so much to those who made it over to The Loopy Ewe for the batch of yarntini that I sent Sheri. I can't believe how fast everything flew out of there! I'm not sure when I'll be able to send her more yarn but if I do, I sure hope it's soon! Sheri is really fantastic, carries a great selection of sock yarn and accessories, and most importantly, has amazing customer service!

I'll keep you updated on the computer/contest situation. It's been really great reading all the comments and getting an idea of what everyone else managed to accomplish for the holidays. And for those who chose not to knit anything for gifts, please don't feel bad. Knitting is supposed to be fun not a chore! Knit (or crochet) what makes you happy and it's all good :).

Posted by jessie at 12:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBacks (0)

I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season! Eating lots, opening gifts and enjoying your friends and family!

The yarntini clan just got back home from a few days in North Carolina. We met my husband's parents in Asheville to celebrate Christmas and it was really a lot of fun. Neither of us wanted to make a 20 hour trip from Pittsburgh to Orlando so we decided to meet them halfway. Definitely a great idea!

I think I scared the pants off my husband while taking a few of these pics! He's not one for heights!

And our "kids" on Christmas

To celebrate the new year I have a contest for you! I went into December planning on knitting ONE present! Just one! And a hat at that, easy peasy. Well, by the time all the gift giving is over I will have finished and gifted 5! knitted presents. Nothing crazy but definitely more than planned. So as far as the contest goes, just leave me comment with how many crafty presents you planned on making before the holiday season started and how many you ended up with. Higher or lower doesn't matter. I'll keep it open until January 8th and then choose someone randomly to get a fantastic "Yea! The holidays are over!" gift. Included for sure will be a skein of our brand new colorway, "pomtini"!

Thanks for reading and commenting! Enjoy your New Year's celebrations safely!

*** There seems to be a problem with the security on the comments that is beyond our control at the moment. I don't understand it, but my husband says that you should be able to comment as usual without signing in. It will just take a while for your message to show up. We'll keep checking on it throughout the day and hopefully it will be fixed soon. I'm so sorry for any inconvience! ***

Posted by jessie at 01:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (48) | TrackBacks (0)

I figured that once I posted the pic of the curlers that I would get a lot of Lucy guesses... and you were all right! I absolutely LOVE her and knew that if I was going to go through with it that it had to be perfect. So being the Virgo that I am, I made the dress, stole, hat, and dyed my hair (just like Lucy I'm a natural brunette :)) and this is what I ended up with....

Throw in some candy cigarettes and a bottle of Vitameatavegamin and I think it turned out pretty good!

I'm hoping to have pictures of my very own Ricky to post soon.

So, there was contest.... and we have a winner!

Congratulations Heather!

Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to comment and make a guess. I had so much fun with this and I think I can safely say that there will be many more contests in the future!

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

Posted by jessie at 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)

Apparently this is harder than I thought! And since I want to have lots of names to choose from, here's another hint (and probably the strangest picture I've ever taken).

Posted by jessie at 04:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (16) | TrackBacks (0)

What in the world have I gotten myself into now??? My expectations for Halloween may be a little high and just so my efforts aren't completely futile I figured I'd make my costume do double-duty and have a contest! All you have to do is leave a comment stating, from these pictures, what costume you think I will attempt to pull off. From those who guess correctly I will randomly choose a winner! I think it's pretty easy but, then again, I know who it is.

And the prize... one skein of yarntini variegated "pure fall" and other assorted goodies!

I'll announce the winner on the 31st. Good luck!

Posted by jessie at 02:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (18) | TrackBacks (0)

Okay, so after a great weekend, Monday has hit with a resounding THUD. What the hell? I guess it can only get better from here....

Just because I'm bummed doesn't mean anyone else has to be though! A while back I went through my fabric stash, and after making a lot of really hard decisions, I have a ton of great stuff that's looking for new homes. There's no real requirements if you want something, shipping is on me unless it needs to go out of the country and if you actually use the fabric, I'd love to see what you make! Just leave me a comment and I should be able to send it to you this week.

This is a home dec fabric that I used for a small purse. I hardly ever buy fabric with an exact project in mind so I always always always have leftovers. These would be them. The background is a soft off-white and it has bits of aqua, blue, pink, green and yellow. There are two pieces, the largest is about 48"x40".

I love this print! It's so much fun! It's a really soft cotton flannel. I used this for center blocks in a baby quilt and there should be enough left for you to do the same! I have two pieces of this one also and the largest is 32"x40" and a smaller strip that's about 28"x10".

TAKEN!

This one is just crazy. I cannot remember for the life of me why I bought it, probably cause it's funky. Which it certainly is. All I know is that it's a semi-sheer synthetic, I guess polyester. It would make a great overlay for a top or skirt or even some sheer curtains. I'm pretty sure I have about 2 yards.

Sadly, I don't have any knitting or sewing to show. I'm in the middle of a big sewing project that I'll hopefully be able to have pics of soon. In the mean time I'll give you a peek of what i picked up over the weekend..

I can't wait to dive into these! Hurry up September and free time!

Posted by jessie at 12:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)