If you are looking for a C*EYE*BER Fix, and live in Salt Lake City, you can visit Suzette at the Wool Cabin!

How cool is that? I am hoping to go to Utah one day and now I have a very good excuse!!

You should see some yarns there in about 6 weeks! Thanks Suzette!!

The Year of the Sock Club keeps getting better!

I have confirmed 6 designs, a membership kit, stitch markers, a “WE ROCK” tote, and more!

Spots are going FAST!

(That I would get tired if the RENT cast recording….not yet.)

It is 11:45 pm and quiet here in my studio. Quiet is good. I really try to maximize on the quiet. I rarely (and if you knew me in person) am quiet.
I am starting to think more deeply about direction and purpose. The very ideas that guide us to actualizing dreams. And, how in a life chock full of (lovingly planned) responsibility, how do dreams actualize themselves?

(a little mantra for me to hang around my neck)

There are times that my D will start talking about things. Travel plans, a life abroad, things that seem unreachable. And I will nay-say it out of chatter, or the need to say something in response. And, in that moment, (when he lovingly calls me a “dream squasher”) I realize that I have been programmed to believe that dreams are just that. Dreams. Nothing that will reach actualization in my lifetime.

I think of what life would be life if my cowboy never dreamed. Literally,while sleeping. or figuratively while playing or aspiring to greatness. That would be a terrible reality for a child growing into a man.

I am sending my youngest brother off to college with well wishes and support for his big plans in politics (again, Bill… I promise I am not your Roger Clinton), and I am hopeful for his dreams. No squashing coming from here.
I think a lot about my artistic pursuits. About my aspirations to have the business grow. About my commitment to supporting the local yarn shops out there that have a rough time competing with the internet shops. It all is swimming in my brain… and I think that I am ok with that. I think I am going to let things resonate for awhile.
Remember the dream squasher thing? I am fighting that right now. I am thinking that comes from this sense of needing a firm plan set in stone and bypassing the scenic route. I am down with the scenery, friends. I am one with the uncertainty.

Along with dreams come change. Change is scary. But, ultimately, good. Gandhi said: “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” I am reaching towards actualization. Step by step… moment by moment of blissful silence.

(Happy Eye Candy Friday!

Here are some shots in the pots!)

So… I may have mentioned that I am amping up the business (that still fells crazy to say … I am reaching for the paper bag that I keep handy to prevent me from hyperventilating)

So I have some questions for you. But first, I will digress just a smidge to catch you up on C*EYE*BER Fiber history…

I started the business by reaching out to some bloggers and designers to ask for honest product opinions. I wanted to create yarns that were beautiful in quality and appearance. I have remained friends with some of my test knitters. I have custom dyed yarns for lots of folks to match their blogs, tastes, whatever they wanted. I used bloglandia and the knitter to help me guide my choices in production.
Well, friends of the C*EYE*BER Fiber, here I go again! I have some specific questions and feedback that I am looking for. And… I sure would appreciate if you answered this little survey to help me give you what you are looking for.

Thanks so much friends! Your feedback is truly appreciated!

EDIT: Thanks so much guys!!! Your feedback is helping so much! Keep it coming!

It is amazing how time flies when you are always uber- busy! I have been dyeing up a storms for you all… but in betwen batches I thought that I would make something else to pass the time ( like that doesn’t happen quickly enough, EH?)* Here is a look at my latest venture:

For my dear friend T…

I am wearing these right now….

And these are up in the Warehouse:

Yup! Clip off stitch marker jewelry. How cool are they? Honestly, I wear one everyday. I love the way they look with a nice tee shirt and skirt ( an I get a lot of non-knitters saying they love them!)

In Year of the Sock Club News…

I have confirmed 3 sock designs that are being done exclusively for the Club! A fourth is in the works! Also, each membership kit will include a “We Rock” tote and stitch markers! I am working on more knitty goodness for your monthly shipments. Stay tuned… memberships are flying!

* Hey there Lady Lung Doc and Michelle… did I say it right?

Actual knitting content soon…..

That’s right! We are finialized on a travel plan and the teaching staff!

Which one first?

Travel plan:

7 day cruise to ALASKA! Glaciers, the land of the Midnight Sun! The entire itinerary can be seen here.

Teachers? Weeeellll…

I will be there with my (contractually obligated: LOL) sparkling personality. I will be dyeing lots of yarn for you and teaching classes about color in knitting ( and child wrangling!)
There is my buddy, the Knittin’ Mom herself, Chrissy Gardiner. Chrissy is the quiet thunder of the knit design world. You probably have knit her patterns or seen them, They are all over! Knee High to a Grasshopper? That’s her! She is, by far, one of my favorite people to collaborate with.

Then there is the Mistress of Knitty, the Non-Sheepy Amy Singer. Do I need to say more? Amy is a hoot…one of those folks you just want to sit and knit with! Her vision in online publishing brings us all new patterns to drool over, acts as a spring board for designers to make their way in the world of knitted fashion, and really has moved online publishing in the realm of knitting to new heights.

And, last but certainly not least, Brenda Dayne. The queen of the pod-cast herself. Talk about making knitting accessible to the masses! her designs are brilliant…. Need I say more?

And, as ever, Patricia will be catering to our every whim and fancy on the great big knitting sea adventure to the north! You can book here (with a VERY MINIMAL down payment) or catch up with the breaking news here .

Won’t cha come on a SEA CRUISE???

It is another Monday. Sad that the weekend flies so fast!

We had a guest on Friday night. My big bro flew in from Phoenix. We chatted until the wee hours of the morn and caught about 3 hours of sleep. Nice to see him a couple times in the last few months.

We got up early and headed to NJ for my brother Billy’s graduation party. It was so much fun! There were cheesesteaks, tasycakes, wise chips…all things Philly! My brother is a Temple Owl now. Awesome! We had a rousing family wiffleball game and ate too much. Billy looked like a 5 year old with a perma-grin.

My dad’s sister and brother (who looks just freakin’ like him) and their families were there. Nice to see them at a happy occaision. My dad was sorely missed, but we had fun in his memory. And the cowboy had hours and hours of running around with his cousins. He slept soundly that evening.

Sunday was a trip headed slightly north to see my mom, brothers (all of them were there) and my cousin J. A nice lunch and then home again.

I think I saw everyone in my family in less than 36 hours. Whew!

Back to the grind this week. Lots of exciting C*EYE*BER Fiber News! New clients, clubs, craziness!

If you guys want the C*EYE*BER FIBER accessories… head here. The order is going in this week! I am so stoked!

I am so excited… shaking and happy excited! The business stuff is coming together… people are literally working their Arses off to help me out!

I am so grateful for them all!

I got some stuff in an email today about my new logo… OH MY GOD! Did my girl Gin get it right? I am so Stoked! This is my best-bud who knows me inside and out. And can draw me like no one else! Gin… I love you soooo much!
So… May I present…

and the new product label…

The C*EYE*BER fiber Line of Apparel is UP and READY for you here!!!

“EYE” want EYE CANDY!!

This club is all about what YOU want!

Inspired by EYE CANDY Friday, this club asks for YOU to decide the colorways! YUP! You send your choice of EYE Candy photo I will turn that into a colorway named after YOU!

The club has memberships available for 3 or 6 months and runs for:
August, September, October
November, September, December

There are only 4 of the 6 months and 8 of the 3 months left!!!

*permission to use the EYE Candy concept granted by Sundara Murphy

Graduations… end of the school year… all that stuff gets me thinking about the folks that I have lost touch with. The ones that meant something to you at critical times, happy times… whatever.

I am closing in on 16 years ( oh shit!) after my high school graduation. Before I know it… 20 years will have crept up and bit me in the ass.It is a natural time for introspection. For re-evaluation.
I have been lucky enough to have had some friends from my past reach out and make contact as of late. I am so happy to hear from all of them. They are grown ups now (I tend to fake that one),they have wives and husbands, children and houses, big moves and big changes. I have heard of the sadness of friends who have died unexpectedly. I have heard of the joys of babies, high school sweethearts who found each other again and married, and folks following their dreams.

Then I find myself thinking about how difficult those years were for all of us (and the vacuum of my memory shatters open) and how socially awkward we all were. And, with each person I correspond with, I see that we were all in the haze of adolescence. We all wanted to fit in and be cool. I used to feel this pit and anxiety about that period of my life. And now I just don’t care. Cool is not the end all and everything (although I remember when I was cool… *sigh*)

Life for me dramatically changed when I turned 30. I felt (and still do) feel fine about walking around in my skin. I just settled into being me.The person who is fiesty, yet kind. The one who doesn’t angrily scream about injustice, who tries to walk a path against it. Don’t get me wrong… I am an ass pretty regularly and still can get my IRISH up (aka I have a slight temper at times). I can cuss like the best of them and make a sailor blush. But, all in all, I try to leave this world slightly better than how I find it.

I am so happy to have all of these connections. Old friends and new, soul-mates (that would be my D), an amazingly beautiful son who I really, truly feel is the greatest blessing I will ever have. All of these connections are so vital to who I have been,and who I still hope to become. I am learning, very slowly, at the end of the day life is all about staying connected. And for all of you who help me do that, I thank you. From the bottom of my heart.