{Winner!}

Hello there! We are having a bit of a snag here, Nomi pulled my laptop off of my bed the other day and it will be a few weeks before I can get it fixed. It looks like it will be a quick fix...I hope...okay, I'm trying not to think about it. So I'll be taking a little blogging break but I promise I'll be back soon. 

I want to thank Jackie again for sponsoring this wonderful giveaway, and congratulate Kim on winning the beautiful yarn! Just contact Jackie through etsy with your shipping information, and happy knitting! {Be sure to let me know what you make!!}

Remember that Jackie is offering us the coupon code "YarnLove" through the end of the month for free shipping on domestic orders! 

{Everything Muffins}

I had a little bit of time to play in the kitchen this weekend and I came up with these muffins. They're so delicious I wanted to share the recipe.

Everything Muffins

Preheat oven to 350*F

1-1/2 cups flour {I use my gf flour mix, but you can substitute regular wheat flour too.}

1/2 cup milk {almond milk or water is fine too}

1/4 cup applesauce/coconut oil/vegetable oil

3/4 cup shredded coconut

2/3 cup chopped pecans

1 cup chocolate chips

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon 

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

Mix everything together and spoon into a well greased muffin tin. The batter is really more like a cookie dough, but it's fine! Bake for 14-18 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool and enjoy!

{Yarn Along}

Another knit for me! (To see two more finished knits look at yesterday's post!) This one is a cowl in a yummy handspun I found in this lovely etsy shop. It's a quick knit on 10-1/2's, and I'm using it as late night knitting to wind down after our busy days. I'm still reading "On the Corner of Bitter and Sweet", and I've added this lovely homemaking book to the pile. My sister recommended it and I could be more delighted with it! Ravelry details {here} Linking up with Ginny for the {Yarn Along}, tons of lovely knitting inspiration over there!

PS} Be sure to go look at Monday's post and enter the Luna Grey giveaway!!

{Crafting On}

Finished projects for 2013!! Things are flying off of my needles right now, and for a change of pace everything has been for me! First are these camp out mitts in a gorgeous handspun yarn I got at our local fiber festival. I LOVE them. They are knit top down which was interesting, but I wasn't crazy about how hard it was to make the bind off loose enough. I also goofed on the grafting so it doesn't blend in with the garter stitch...but I did it on both of them so they still match. *wink* They are pretty and warm and really that's all that matters. 

And this hat has the honor of being the first finished item this year. My very best friend sent me this Mochi Plus, and it was really lovely to work with. Red isn't usually my color but I've been trying to work it in more often. She didn't know that, but as always, our minds are connected on a higher level and she found this perfect red colorway. The pattern was simple and I am still not totally decided on the matter of the pom pom...I might just make a second one with the pompom, one can never have too many hats! Be sure to go over to Nicole's blog to check out the other crafty goodness! 

Also, have you seen yesterday's Luna Grey Fiber Arts giveaway? Just leave a comment for a chance to win a gorgeous skein of my favorite yarn!

{Luna Grey Fiber Arts Giveaway}

Today I am thrilled to host a giveaway from my very favorite yarn shop, Luna Grey Fiber Arts! Really her gorgeous yarn speaks for itself, but Jackie was kind enough to do a little Q&A so that you can get to know her too! She is just the sweetest lady, and the fact that she dyes yarn too makes her one of my top reasons to be grateful for the internet. 

What got you started?  How long have you been dyeing yarn?  

On a whim, I picked up a couple jars of dye at the Wool Market in Taos, New Mexico several years ago.  I promptly scoured my stash to find every skein of natural/undyed yarn I owned.  I really had no idea what I was doing and admittedly ruined a few skeins of yarn during my trial runs.  Over time my yarn became more consistent.  People began asking where I got the yarn.  When they heard I had dyed it myself, they asked if I could dye some for them.  Everything sort of took off from there.

Do you have a favorite colorway?

You know, I think I have a new favorite colorway every week!  I am partial to blues and greens, so those combinations tend to be my favorites.  My latest favorite is "Tidepool". {Pictured to the right}  It's an eerie mix of teal green, olive, and gray.  It reminds me of the tidal pools we saw on a trip to Cape Ann, MA years ago.  I am not a big fan of pink or purple.  Probably due to the fact that I have two boys and am always knitting things for them in shades of brown, gray, blue and green.  

What do you do when a colorway doesn't work out the way you had thought?

Sometimes the most popular colorways are "accidents".  The beauty of hand dyed yarn is that you can over dye the yarn if you do not care for the color you have created on the first try.  Really great, interesting colorways can be creating by "layering" color - - gray layered over red or purple layered over blue are both beautiful combinations.     

I have learned a lot during my first year of dyeing.  I never had formal training in understanding the color wheel.  Some colors always work well together, like blue and green.  While others....Well, not so much.  Living in Colorado means that I am surrounded by Denver Broncos fans.  My first attempt at dyeing orange and navy blue yarn (Broncos team colors) was a total flop.  Who knew that when blue and orange overlap they make a muddy brown?    

What is your favorite part about operating Luna Grey Fiber Arts?

While my background is not in art, I have found that I am happiest when I am working on some type of creative endeavor.  Dyeing yarn is deeply satisfying as it allows for so much freedom of expression.  And, as a knitter, I love being surrounded by beautiful yarn!  

I also love that I have so much flexibility with my business.  As an at-home mom of two young boys, this is a must.  While my eight year old is in school most days, my four year old attends a pre-K program four mornings each week.  It's just enough time for me to dye up some yarn, package up sold orders and market my business a little.  I am still able to drop off and pick up my kids from school, volunteer in the classroom, chaperon field trips, be home with them when they're ill, etc.  It works really well for our family.  

What's next for Luna Grey? 

My business started in my kitchen.  Which was fine - - for a while. However, for safety reasons, it really wasn't ideal.  A few months after I opened my Etsy shop, my parents bought the house directly across the street from ours.  Their new house had a huge, unfinished walk-out basement.  While touring the home, I had a lightbulb moment.  The space was absolutely perfect for a permanent dye studio. They ended up purchasing the home and my new studio was born.  It's a great space filled with lots of natural light and high ceilings.  I really am so lucky that everything worked out the way it did.  The space has really allowed me to grow my business faster than I ever imagined!  

While I have been selling Luna Grey yarn on consignment at my local yarn shop, I just established my first wholesale account with Jen of www.woolgirl.com.  She creates the cutest knitting kits and has quite a following.  She pairs an indie yarn dyer with an indie pattern designer.  Along with a seamstress who sews hand-made knitting project bags and a jewelry designer who creates stitch markers. It's a really clever idea.  I look forward to establishing more wholesale accounts in the future.  

To keep up with Jackie's knitting adventures (and to keep drooling over yarn pictures) you can check out the Luna Grey Blog!

For today's giveaway, Jackie is kindly offering one lucky reader this gorgeous skein of her yummy Orion yarn! Here is Jackie's description: 

Saturated shades of emerald, deep blue and gold hand-dyed onto my "Orion" base yarn.  A silky soft, durable, DK / Sport weight yarn.  100% Superwash Merino Wool. etc.  Machine washes/dries beautifully and is next-to-the-skin soft.  Approx. 289 yds (100g/3.5 oz)

Gauge: 6 stitches/inch on U.S. # 3 - 5 needles 

And if like me you find the yarn at Luna Grey completely irresistible, Jackie is sweetly offering us free shipping on domestic orders with the coupon code "YarnLove" through the end of the month!

To enter today's giveaway, just leave a comment in today's post! 

For up to four additional entries please leave additional comments letting me know you:

Follow along here at While the Water Boils

"Like" Luna Grey over on facebook

Follow the Luna Grey Blog

"Favorite" Luna Grey on etsy

I will close this giveaway and announce a winner on Monday, January 28th. Good luck, and happy knitting!

{Weekending}

Banana (and chocolate chip and pecan) bread with my Bobby, my current tea obsession in my favorite tea cup, visiting my parents house & blogging while someone else watches my kids (Nomi dropped my laptop. Grrrr), and the promise of another day of weekending. What does this weekend hold for you?

{Afternoon Around Here}

 {Dancing for dust fairies}

{Do you have children too quick for the camera? I have two adorable blurs and and one hopelessly photogenic child... I swear it's not a mothering bias, the oldest and youngest just never.sit.still.} 

{I loooove these tiny roses, especially in this orange-y red shade.}

{Above ~ mobile over our table}

{Below ~ on the table}

{He likes to scrub things, but then he stashes the cloth *everywhere*...caught him in the act! ~And a knitting peek in my purse there, bottom left~}

{Freshly reworked space, a home for the wonderful, and much loved new farm toys, as well as most of our school books. We made the apple banner last fall and it is one of my most treasured belongings!} 

{Not many real ones so we're forced to compensate with paper & glitter versions} 

{Bobby helping with dinner...he was the photographer heehee} 

{I took over photography duties while he washed up} 

{Just one more...}

{Yarn Along}

I'm in a blissful state of new knitting projects right now. I think I cast on for four new projects this week! No deadlines, no secrecy, just yummy yarn and a cold (which is the perfect cover for extra knitting time!), and a nice man who keeps bringing me tea. {It's so, so, SO, good to have him home! I'm ignoring the part about being half done with this leave time...} Miss Jenny is working on knitting project number 2 ~a dolly scarf. She wanted to know what was the next thing to learn about knitting, so with a little coaching we are practicing purling! Does anyone know of a good rhyme for learning the process? I did pair down the following photos, believe it or not! Proud-mama-itis for certain...

 {photo by Jenny}

 {photo by Jenny}

 {photo by Jenny}

  {we then discussed the "zoom" abilities of my camera *wink*}

I'm joining up with Ginny for the {Yarn Along} today. I don't have a picture of it, but my dear friend sent me a copy of "On the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" for Christmas and I'm a few chapters in. She has excellent taste in books so I know I'll like it! What are you making these days?