short on time but not on projects

Happyhappy news-- my sweet husband finally found a job after applying for HUNDREDS of jobs, most offering minimum wage to high school grads.  He lost his job when the bookstore he worked for downsized severely, closing nearly half of their stores nation-wide.  The new job is good news for our little family, but finding time to work now will be even more difficult for me.

I don't know if any fiber-working moms out there have found a way to integrate drum carding time with child-care time -- it just doesn't mesh!  My studio is 100% baby dangerous, so all of the wool magic happens with a) baby hangs out with Daddy, or b) baby is sleeping.  Hello, late night tea-fueled drum carding sessions!

Well, last week I did have ample time to crank out some fiber - both hand-pulled roving and novelty batts.  You can find it in my new shop!

 And as if business + baby weren't enough to keep me on my toes 24/7, I started a new lace project (I swear, complicated knitting is keeping me sane), though after knitting the first 20 rows, I'm thinking of frogging it out and starting a new pattern ("Limestone" by The Fickle Knitter) that I just splurged on yesterday.  My new miPattern Saver from slippedstitchstudios arrived, and it's the most genius knitting accessory I've ever purchased, and is definitely my second pair of hands during this new lace project.

 

 Love love love it!  Though, I should have bought some of the magnet guides... perhaps this weekend I'll order a set.

As a quick end-note to an over-long post, I just have to share Ingrid's latest hand-knit digs.

The hat is Pumpkinhaus's Gnome hat (knit with my handspun, a 50/50 tencel/merino blend), the shirt is Brandy Fortune's "Country Kiddie" pattern (knit with Zauberball yarn), and the shrug is The Shizknit's "Confection" pattern (knit using The Plucky Knitter's worsted Merino yarn).