A foray to Maine, and love to my baby girl .. and , um...no significant knitting

But I have yarn! Yarn counts for something doesn't it???? I am only just now able to uncover my poor little laptop from the mounds of yarn it has been under for the past week; THAT is how much yarn I have! With some luck, I'll get to kickboxing tomorrow and then spend the rest of the day taking photos for etsy and -- if we have ANY sun -- skirting a few fleeces.
So what HAVE I been doing? Well, aside from replacing BOTH of our vehicles (oh yeah, good times) wrangling puppies and yarn dyeing, I got to take a trip out to see Julie Noolie at her local yarn shop The Yarn Sellar on Chicks with Sticks night. The occasion? I was delivering my first order of yarn to the wonderful Patti and Roger, the proprietors of that wonderful store! my dear friend Lora came along for the drive and to see our dear new friends-in-knitting. We had a great time and I am so jealous that Lora got to hang with them all again and one of my other most favorite people and a great inspiration, the amazing Amy Boogie of Spunky Eclectic, this past weekend. More on why I couldn't do THAT later.
Some pics from our night...

Patti, Julie, holding Splinter, knit by Lora inspired by our first Yarn Sellar trip, and Lora, the knittah herself, and

My yarn, already on display in a basket by the register! YAY!
I also just shipped out a ton of bags and kits to Woolgirl and bags and yarn to One Planet Yarn and Fiber. The kits hat went to Woolgirl in particular are AWESOME. OMG, I wanted to keep them all for myself! I should have a couple to post in the Sereknity shop as well -- I have a Seriously Citrus kit done and a Watermelon. Soon. Very soon. But check Woolgirl -- she'll have them sooner, and One Planet got 6 bags, 2 spindle bags, and 8 colorways, if your lookin'.
The knitting? Pluggin' away still on all of my WIPs -- Wicked it at a crawl, but still in the active pile. Almost at the body decreases. I know, pathetic -- I've only done a few rows since the last report. But I have my reasons! When I have had time to knit I have been obsessed with knitting Grace's sundress. The color is just so amazing, and the sheen on the Goby is fabulous. I stop every few rows to flatten out the fabric and just LOOK at it. I tried to get a good pic, but they just don't do the yarn and color ANY justice. So purty. Also active is the sock pattern I am working on that I mentioned ages ago. I stalled as I had simply reworked the stitch pattern as I went along, instead of ripping back, so I could see what I liked best, so the original, well, looked like ass. AND the yarn pooled in ways tht I just couldn't deal with thanks to the ever changing pattern issue, which altered gauge and just mae everything ALL wonky. SO, I started sock #2 in the "real" pattern and I am very happy with it! Also a new thing for me, I'll be writing this one with an afterthought heel since I wear through mine so quickly. I have a few minor math issues to work out on the heel and toe decreases (does it matter if you have an odd numbered stitch count? seriously? will this mess people up?) but then it will be ready. I haven't figured out where I want it either -- free on Sereknity w/purchase, simple free on the blog...dunno. UG. I hate decisions. It has taken me a while, tho, for this one, so I'm kinda thinking I want it in the store. Here is a glimpse...

And life? Well, my reason for NOT going to see the wonderful Amy with all my friends, is my #1 reason for everything -- my baby girl, who turned 8 on the 3rd. EIGHT!!!! What IS that?!?!?! I'd be freaking out if she wasn't growing up so beautifully. (and yes, the little boy is tied for #1, as well.) We had a great family party with the in-laws on Saturday, and then my mom and Amber (the bro's GF and future auntie) came for a visit Sunday and my mom gave Rachel the best gift of all -- the gift of time. She helped us start a rock garden (I'm all black thumbs), gave Rachel her own gardening tools, and some flowers. Talk about a lasting gift. I'll try to get some pics of Rachel in her garden tomorrow -- I was too busy digging and the hands were too dirty to take pics on Sunday! (Yeah, you caught me, I just forgot.)