i had a lovely drive down I-70 the past weekend. aren't them some real beauties.

We were headed to the Buena Vista Bike Fest. My husband likes to do 100 mile (century) bicycle rides-- and i like to get the heck out of town! So while i don't pedal a bicycle one darn mile, i do provide the support-- or in bicycle lingo: SAG.

Sagging consists of driving the route along with the bicyclist bringing along water, food, extra clothing and random bicycle tools ( a wee bit of loving encouragement and yummy homemade muffins). While there is some food and water provided at the rest stops of organized events, my crew prefers their own (as in "my system is used to this food and i don't want to eat anything that is unfamiliar and make my tummy hurt" and their own sports drink powder). I take along my knitting (but appartently i don't photograph it.) : the yarn kate dyed for socks and cast on the Pea-Pod sweater from IK. This is Tom and Darell at the end of the ride at McPhlemy Park, B.V. (New Belgium is a sponsor and apprently a tasty beverage after 100 miles in the heat.)

This is the best and now my favorite road sign i've ever seen. Isn't it absolutely charming? See the little duckie that has it's wings out? He's quacking, "hey wait for me!" You know the little song: five little ducks went out to play, over the hills and far away. Mother duck said, 'quack, quack, quack!!!', but only four little ducks came waddleing back!" (maybe you don't, maybe you aren't a preschool teacher!)

And yes, i accidently found the yarn shop in Buena Vista. Really, it was an accident. i went zipping past it, noticed the shop and made a quick turn-around. The shop is BEAUTIFUL!! (and yes, i forgot to take a picture of the inside-- but trust me the goods are in there-- very good indeed!)I spent some time wandering around the store, touching the yarns, but didn't buy anything.

This is me. It's a self portrait (i.e. self timer)

and this is my yarn! i'm thrilled! My friend kate has her own etsy shop.
her yarns contain the most beautiful combinations of color, hue and definations. Mine is greens, yellows and a twinge of purple. they are perfect for my taste and match my stash collection.
go check out her site and get yourself a skein-- also named after some of our friends.

100 (or so) things about me:
1. i don't know where to start....
2. i learned to knit in elementary school during Knitting club
3. knitting club turned into let's-draw-on-the-chalk-board club
4. i started knitting with my knitting teacher again when i was 20.
5. she gave be a beautiful Longaberger basket when i got married.
6. i love the Longaberger building!
7. i also learned to sew when i was 7.
8. i only make one quilt pattern-- but i love it. i've made 7 of them.
9. i machine piece my quilts, but refuse to machine quilt them.
10. i taught myself to hand quilt. i don't know if i do it correctly.
11. i bring my knitting basket to work-- everyday!
12. it is my security blanket.
13. i like to wear long cotton skirts that take yards and yards of fabric to make.
14. i make most of the cloths i wear in the winter
15. in the winter i have "Dress Season"
16. "Dress Season" looks like i am having "1800's season"
17. During "1800's season", I use a cell phone, a credit card, drive a large vechile and live a modern life. It's just the cloths that look "period".
18. "1800's season" get's too hot for the summer.
19. i am educated in Early Childhood Education.
20. i needed more that a High School diploma, so I have an AGS and some certificates.
21. i take care of small children monday thru friday.
22. they are just learning to walk.
23. that last one wasn't really about me.
24. i'm trying to recylce more often-- and as much as i can.
25. i like to spend time in the health food store, even if i don't have much to buy. it just smells good.
26. i have a small collection of Burt's Bees products; i wish it was a large one.
27. i have a love affair with homemade oatmeal soap.
28. i worked at the Denver Museum of Natural History, before it became the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
29. i had a really long job title, i don't remember it any more. but i do remember all the behind-the-scenes tid-bits i learned. i did photo-research and acquasitions.
30. the woman who hired me at the Museum completely took me under her wing.
31. i lived with her after a while.
32. it was the first time i moved out of my parent's house.
33. She died 7 months later-- i was one of her care-takers; she called me her companion.
34. i moved into my first apartment the same week she died. I got her furniture. My apartment looked liked her home.
35. she died the 8th day of July.
36. my Grandfather died in September.
37. age 19-21 was not enjoyable; i was depressed.
38. i went to an herbalist for lactose intolerance and "nervous" stomach remedies.
39. i felt much better-- i still do.
40. i lost contact with a friend i wish i hadn't.
41. i think about that friend a lot.
42. i once lived in a small mountain town.
43. i left that town to be close to my boyfriend.
44. he is now my husband.
45. i miss living in that mountain town.
46. i want to move to another mountain town-- with my husband!
47. i cut off 18 inches of my hair to donate to Locks of Love.
48. i am growing my hair long now.
49. i think i'll keep it.
50. i love braids, in lots of different styles, but i don't think i am good at fixing my hair.
51. i like a little clutter- it makes life interesting.
52. i'd like to read more books-- but i won't cut into my knitting time.
53. i don't like to pick "favorites"-- i can never choose just one.
54. i'm a little jealous of how clever my cousin was to name his cat Beatrix.
55. i don't have any pets right now.
56. i want to learn to be a better cook.
57. i love the smell of beeswax-- i like to inhale the biggest sniff i can.
58. i certainly enjoy chocolate crossiants
59. i like having breakfast for dinner-- eggs benedict is one of my favorites.
60. i'm planning on having an herb-garden this summer. it was my husband's idea. i love it!
61. i like earth-tone colors
62. i love the desert in the very early morning-- but not in the heat of the day.
63. i like eating cereal for dinner in the summer. my husband thinks that is lazy. i don't care.
64. i love frozen confections
65. i'll eat almost anything if is has a strawberry with it.
66. i like all the berries.
67. one of my favorite children's books is Jamberry.
68. if i had more room i would collect children's picture books.
69. if i were a superhero my "power" would be being able to do anything like a pro the first time-- and look good doing it.
70. i believe our public education system is not appropriate for boys.
71. i would like to be a Waldorf teacher.
72. I have a new friend who also loves Anne of Green Gables; we have had many converstations about our affection.
73. i didn't think i would have friend like that when i grew up-- i am thrilled!
74. i would like to be a mother like Mrs. March from Little Women.
75. i don't like to use lotion on my hands; i prefer balms or salves.
76. i wish i had land to have a healthy vegatable and flower garden.
77. when i visit the living museum, other patrons ask me if i work there.
78. i wished i lived there!
79. i must have a 4x4 vehicle to drive;i laugh and call it my "covered wagon"
80. i love chapstick and lip balm-- but i always loose them and have cracked lips nonetheless.
81. i was married in October-- 1 day after my brother-in-laws secret wedding and 2 days after my grandparents wedding anniversary.
82. my family (and extended) had one week notice to attend the wedding-- it was not shot gun wedding!
83. i have a large fabric stash in addition to my yarn stash.
84. i like to keep the little bits of yarn i have when i weave in ends in a mason jar.
85. i like to cut specific pictures of hands out of magazines. I glue them into a black art book,
86. i made a collection of poems about sheep into a book.
87. i cut pictures out of magazines, save them in a folder and use them for tags, cards and labels on evelopes; i usually don't have the image i want.
88. i have not traveled much.
89. i took several years of Irish Step Dancing classes; i also competed
90. i thought i would move to Ireland one day too.
91. i have brown hair, brown eyes and keep my fingernails short.
92. i do not wear nail polish
93. i don't really wear make-up either
94. if i didn't work in early childhood education, i would like to be a ceramicist.
95. i don't like to watch people sing on t.v.
96. i love television: deadwood, sopranos, big love, sons and daughters, the office, how i met your mother, lost (tho i have a love/hate relationship with you) and the amazing race are all regularly watched with affection.
97. i don't often go to the movies
98. i like my music mellow and acustic, unless i am angry, and then i like it loud.
99. tom says i am becoming a junior dead-head. i don't agree.
100. all is well in life right now. i've grown a lot and expect to do more.
101. i think i'll come back to this in a year... or so.

catching up...

i'm so far behind on posts. i've been busy!

maggie's bag
Originally uploaded by good little granola girl.

i've completed a few projects, and hosted a very fun yarn swap party!

First up: A birthday present for Maggie (who i'm so happy to have a new friendship with!)


Next up: a zillion wash cloths for my mother, aunts and grandmother. Most are sugar 'n cream cotton, and one is cotton chenille (which is quite lovely to work with, but is expensive and hard to see all the decreases without guessing.)

The yarn party was fabulous-- though i spent a lot of time in preperations. First there was the baskets to clean out and set up:

and make lovely little tags for:

clean the back deck (the building i live in just got a new roof-- oh, what a mess. and i never cleaned up after autumn):

a cake to make (in which i managed to spill a whole bottle of vanilla all over the clean counter top, clean floor and myself at 12:30 am. yes AM, in the dark!):

make some driving direction signs (i get distracted very easily while house cleaning and take many "breaks"):

Finally: the party began on a clear and beautiful mid-morning. We had a ton of food (thanks ya'll):

And all my wonderful guests (note to self: do you remember photography school at all!?!?! Do not take pictures into the sun light. duh!): Maggie, Kayla, Alex,

Erica, Ben, Katie, and Crystal and tho not pictured ('cause they are picking through yarn: Diane, Anne, Allison and Tom and Jenifer).

I have a ton of yarn left over: (most of it will go to the Knit-Out now).

And i finished up the event by ditching, errrr, i mean quickly cleaning up and putting food away at, my own party to go to LambShoppe!

And that is the update!

Well, the One Skein Secret Pal Exchange has offically kicked off! (i only messed up a little bit-- i'm new to this kind of secret keeping). Here is the questionaire all complete! The prose in paragraphs and italics are questions from my secret pal-- we had a little conversation.

• Which yarn is most like your personality (you can be specific or general with your answer- brand, type, color, fiber, whatever)? I find this to be an extremely difficult question and one that i have never considered and i am sure i am being far too analytical about it. I have no freaking idea! I may have to get back to you!
• What is your favorite color yarn to knit/crochet with? I like earth tones: browns, sage greens, sky blue and dusty rose pink-- i like a lot of colors, but the tones are not too strong.
• Have you ever used variegated, or magic, yarns? (I'm sorry, this amuses me - I don't know that in my experience with knitting, I've ever heard variegated yarns referred to as "magic" - maybe that's an international thing? Adds a certain whimsy, though, doesn't it?) When i hear the word magic yarns i think, "oh boy, they knit themselves! like something from Harry Potter!" and i don't think i have ever used them. i do like variegated yarns, but i am not in love with them-- they are good for socks, and thats about all. read more for my opinions about socks.
• Do you tend to favor certain fibers when choosing yarns? Yep (as you've read in the blog). I like me some cotton (and it's cousins Linen and Hemp)! but also love wool a lot too. when making yarn purchases, i waver between wool and cotton the most often-- i like my yarns soft, but not if that includes a lot of "articfical" fibers (micro-this-that-and-the-other, poly-what ever and the like).
• Do you prefer to work with center-pull or traditionally wound balls of yarn? (Also, I'm adding to this - do you have a yarn-winder and prefer to wind stuff yourself, or would you rather it arrive wound?) I prefer to work with a center pull skein-- and i usually use my swift and ball winder to make them.
• Have you ever worked with organic yarns or are you interested in trying them? Of course the Good Little Granola Girl loves organic yarns. although i'm not sure if the word organic fits with wool-- it's it more "free range" like beef?
• How many and what projects have you made in the last year? I didn't really count (if i had my blog longer or kept with my paper journal more frequently i could tell you). I have a lot of projects and i finish a lot of projects. some are big and some are small-- but there are a lot!
• Will you be knitting any gifts this year? (This seems kind of silly to me - I would think if one is a part of this exchange, that automatically means one will be making at least one knitted gift this year....but I guess maybe the inference is what sort of yarns would you tend to knit gifts with?) I do knit a lot of gifts, probably 50-60% of what i knit will be a gift. i tend to use practical yarns for gift that will be fairly easy for the recipent to take care of (i also include care/wash instructions with almost everything i gift).
• What is your favorite one skein project? From the book: the spiral zipper case, the petal bibs (tho not for me), the leg warmers and the baby bolero (tho it would have to live in the hope-chest for awhile).
• How much yarn do you have in your stash and how do you store it? This is a hard question to respond to because my "a lot" isn't someone else's "a lot". I have several medium large baskets with yarn. I try to store the cotton seperate from the wool. i'm having a yarn stash swap party this saturday-- so the stash will see a little change-up!
• Do you have a yarn in your stash that you love so much you can never use it or part with it? i'm not sure. if the right project came along, i might use something i didn't intend to. mostly i buy yarn with a project in mind and use it for that purpose, rather than just buying yarn willie-nilly to stash away forever.
• Do you knit less or differently in the summer? nope. i do to a bit more cross-stitch in the summer tho.
• Do you belong to any knitting groups (online or offline)? Yep. And i love them all dearly (listed on the side bar of the blog)
• (I'm adding this one, though I may figure out the answer when I spend more time on your blog.) Do you knit socks? I do knit sock. But not like a fanatic. I don't really like to wear socks: none in the summer (unless i am hiking and then i have special smart-wool ones) and in the winter i prefer tall black knee high socks (not too thin, not too thick, not too slippy, but just right) all the time. So, when i knit socks they are gifts for someone else. when knitting socks i prefer to use the toe-up method, using the magic loop. i'm planning on doing these soon.

completing this questionaire temps me to type up a "100 things about me" list.

yes, i've changed my blog name. it's not that it has something to do with the "cotton post", i did however, get to thinking about what "the good sheep" meant to me. turns out not much. i thought of it quickly, because i wanted a blog. and a blog needs a name. but what does "a good sheep" mean to me, to anyone? nice fleece? useful lanolin? am i "the good sheep?" maybe it had something to do with knitting, sheep and yarn. but as we all now know, i am not limited to only wool-- and for that matter, i am not limited to only yarn. and i am not a sheep.

so there i was with the seam ripper in hand, taking apart an old garment (and by old, i mean tissue paper thin, ripped a giant whole in the seat, but some parts are still good) to make into a new garment and i thought to myself, "what a good little granola girl, reusing the waist band to make a new skirt". and then it stuck me, "That's a catchy title".

good little granola girl, to me (who else is writing this?), has more ring. more personality. and some more description, bulk, and wit. it describes my love of the homemade, the handcrafted and the natural: cotton, wool, alpaca, silk. maybe we'll even see some pictures of the good little granola girl soon!

In other rabblings: Tom as brought my attention to the craft-couch.


Apparently, the handmades are taking over the couch, spreading out of control. and he wonders if the baskets on the floor are a nessesity right now, is the quilt getting done and just how many projects do you have?


well darling, it's spread to another room! we are in the height of craft-restlessness, bouncing from one idea to another. time is limited. housecleaning calls, but who has time when the good little granola girl wants a new skirt? i can't even put together a grocery list because my mind is so full of homemade ideas. friends need presents, mothers need presents, the wardrobe needs to be expanded. and i'd like to use my own two hands to make it, thank you!

A Festive and Merry May Day to You!

Make sure to adorne yourself with flowers, pass a posie to someone else and enjoy a little dance.