the dip lady knits...

back in the saddle…

dipladyknits — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 23:56:04 +0000

ok, so it’s been awhile since i updated my blog… a long while maybe. but lets not dwell on it – k? this will be a pictureless post and there will be more with pictures later… i have to break myself in slowly.

It was a pretty nice summer and I’ve been busy knitting and going here and there.

So where is there… Sock Summit 2009 – Portland Oregon!!! My friend Julie and I got up early and drove down to Portland. I knew it was going to big, and I had envisioned something like Madrona… I couldn’t have been more wrong. If you have been reading other blogs and posting about the Sock Summit then you know… IT WAS HUGE!!! It really was just too much for my brain to take in at once. It would have been nice to have gotten there, shopped, 1 hour class (Judy’s Magic Cast-On), shopped some more and then gone out for dinner, gone back to a hotel room and knitting and drooled over the days purchases, and then gone back the next day to take in a bit more shopping. But instead… we shopped, popped in for a fantastic class with the wonderful Judy, and then shopped more and then went for a wonderful dinner. Before i continue about the yarn and everything… dinner was at Joe’s Crab Pot in Vancouver… GO THERE!!! It may have been that I was super pooped, and the breeze on the deck was wonderful and the crab nachos to die for, and the company was great too, but the whole experience wrapped up together made it the BEST!

OK, back to the yarn and the summit… let me ask you this… can you really see that much yarn and know what to buy? without going over a poor girls budget? NO! I tried to be very good, and limit myself to things i have never seen before or that I have always dreamed of… ha! I dream of it all. Anyway, I think I did pretty good. The people who I ran into, or came across where without a doubt the nicest people ever, but then are all knitter pretty darn nice people (for the most part!). When I got back and started reading other blogs and see pictures (I took NO pictures – my oversight – didn’t even think about the camera the whole time.) anyway, i saw so much more that i didn’t even see while we were there. It really was a great adventure and I sure hope the wonderful people involved in putting on this wonderful summit are recovered enough by next year to do it again!

Next post… very soon… with pictures of items that have been knitted and other fun stuff.

it’s good to be back !

And to think that I saw it on Mulberry Street…

dipladyknits — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 03:22:59 +0000

Do you remember this book? I loved it once upon a time… and today for some reason I was reminded of it.. OK, maybe it wasn’t Mulberry Street… it was Broadway in Montesano, Washington. But it was just as funny to me and all the others that happen to be on the main streets in this fun little town, around 11 am.

One of my co-workers told me this morning that her son and several of his friends wanted to drive lawn mowers to school on the last day. So this morning on her way out of the house she looks in her garage and see about 6 riding lawn mowers, and outside beside their house a tractor! Oh, aren’t boys funny. So now flash forward to about 11 am and the phone rings at work to alert her that the mowers are coming down the main street and they are heading to lunch at El Rancho. I ran out and tried to get a couple of pictures of them but all I managed to get was a picture of the traffic that was backing up behind them!

Going to lunch

Then after the boys had lunch they all came back up the hill and in front of our building. We all ran out to wave and cheer them on as they went back up to school to end the 2009 school year.

Turning to pass in front of the courthouse.

I’m not sure what they were wearing, but they looked very colorful.

a quick stop for the whole group to catch up

I guess not everyone had a mower to ride, because we saw one bicycle built for two!

and away they go

Not the greatest picture, but you get the idea.

going...going...going

They didn’t have far to go, but mother was getting worried that they might run out of gas.

Aren't boys funny

They sure looked like they were having a good time… Oh, to be young. Well that was the excitement in Montesano today.

Have a good week and remember to stay young at heart… and keep knitting.

A month in review…

dipladyknits — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 04:00:02 +0000

OK, I did it… I finally got all the photos off our camera. I didn’t realize there I had so many stacking up in there. I’m going to share a snapshot of several things that have gone on over the last month or maybe longer.

World Wide Knit in Public Day

Let’s begin with yesterday! World Wide Knit in Public day was a lot of fun. We got together at the Coffee Bean Cafe and Popcorn Factory in Aberdeen. This is the 3rd year we have met here. Each year has been very different, all good, just different. This year I actually got some knitting done! I also got to catch up with knitting friends that I haven’t seen in a long time, and I made new friends too!

Here is a snapshot of my day yesterday…

The Knitting Shack

I also found pictures of a few beautiful days in my new Knitting Shack aka our pop-up camper. We set it up on our lot next door, Rick has been mowing it and making it look like part of our yard. We thought my brother and his family were coming to visit, they have 5 boys. They love staying out there. Well, they ended up not coming to visit and we decided to leave it up. I love being able to go out there and just knit or take my laptop with me and listen to books too. The view is fantastic and it’s very relaxing, and I feel like I’m far away from everything.

The days in the Knitting Shack

As you can see in the pictures, I’m not the only one that loves to go out there. Both dogs run over there the second they go out the back door, they love it too.

Maddy Moo Chicken

I may have mentioned that I was knitting a cousin to the Sister Chickens. Her name is Maddy Moo Chicken. My friend Teresa retired from the Treasurers office on May 31st, and I wanted her to have something to take with her that would remind her of us and the fun we had. She saw the others chickens while I knit on them and was there when they were auctioned off. She really wanted a cow, but I just couldn’t find a knitted cow that I could fall in love with.

Teresa's Retirement gift "Maddy Moo Chicken"

It’s hard to believe that Teresa worked for the county for 38 years! She must have started working here in 6th grade.

Another Friendship Blanket

It has probably taken a lot longer that it should have, but we wanted to make sure to have everything mapped out well before everyone started knitting. Our goal is that when we are done knitting our colorful blocks, we will have very little sewing together to do at the end.

This blanket is very colorful and it makes you feel happy just knitting it! When the blanket is completed it will go to the Friendship House in Aberdeen. This is where our 2008 Olympics knitting project went also. We hope that this blanket will make a few kids feel good and warm.

A colorful start to a blanket!

The color of yarn that looks dark blue in the picture is actually very grape/purple. I will post more about this project in the near future. It was real fun to wind all the yarn cakes too! Each skein was made into 2 cakes. We are using Encore worsted weight yarn. We will have 14 knitters and each knitter will knit 4 blocks. So we put together kits that include the patterns they are to knit, the detailed instructions and the 4 colors of yarn into a large ziploc bag, and numbered each bag.

Color Swap

I failed to post pictures of the last swap I participated in, but I think I did talk about it. If not here, I know I said a big thank you to my swap partner for a wonderful package. And I mentioned it on Ravelry.

The color I picked was Chocolate brown or Coffee brown – my favorite scents and things to enjoy. The person that I swapped with wanted pink. I know I showed you pictures of the pink cowl I knit for her. Well my knitted item that I received in a beautiful brown yarn, is fingerless mitts! I love, love, love them. She also got me some wonderful chocolates, beautiful yarn, coffee, and a journal and much more. This collage of everything I received just doesn’t do it justice, but you can see how wonderful and thoughtful she was to put together all these great things.

Brown Color Swap

OK, so now we are kind of up to date. And I have run out of time for the evening, because I need to get back to knitting a wedding gift that I need for the end of this month. I’ll post about it too later.

Happy Knitting!

another anniversary!

dipladyknits — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 04:01:57 +0000

How quickly time passes! 3 Years of blogging – on and off!

I haven’t posted in forever, but I have been busy knitting, and taking lots of pictures. Oh, and being sick too!

I’m a little too tuckered out tonight to post any pictures or to chat much, so I’ll just say this… I will be doing a lot more blogging in the very near future. Thanks to everyone that stops in and leaves me comments, or even if you don’t leave a comment… thanks for dropping in. I promise if you check back within the week I will have some pictures to show you what I have been up to. (Don’t you just love pictures.)

Have a great day and if you can stop by on Saturday at the World Wide Knit in Public day nearest you I’m sure you will have a great day. I will be knitting with my friends at The Coffee Bean Cafe and Popcorn Factory in Aberdeen, WA – we’ll be knitting from about 9 am to maybe 2? It should be a lot of fun and it’s a great place!

Knit on!

Dog Daze!

dipladyknits — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 02:46:13 +0000

I love my dogs… they make me smile, laugh and scream!

Are we there yet? (when are you going to clean these windows?)

Run for the bag!

Thor did you pee here?

Which way did he go?

Is Cassie still following me?

I need W A T E R !!!!!!!

Bring on the clams!

Too late... all gone!

"Dad wait, you and Thor are going the wrong way. The truck is over here."

I can't move a muscle.

"You want us to go where now?"

"Thor, did you pee here too?"

The bay... Thor and Cassie just want to go home at this point!

One last shot before we head home.

Happy at home watching the ducks on our dock.

A little nap is a "good thing".

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I’ll update with my knitting progress later this week.

Am I crazy?

dipladyknits — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 17:14:24 +0000

Recently while on Facebook I discovered something that really stopped me in my tracks. And no, it wasn’t yarn or a new knitting pattern, and it wasn’t chocolate or peanut butter… and it wasn’t coffee either… NO WAIT… it is about coffee.

This is what I found… this is what I want!

The Cool Cow Coffee Company

I know times are tight right now, and businesses like this might not be the best thing to get involved in but, If the papers and radio where to play it up big too, and in the right location… well, maybe… right? And mom, if you are reading this, I haven’t lost my mind, and I know I hate to get up early in the morning, but Rick is an early morning person!

I know the clip is long, I am going to copy the Facebook Ad at the bottom of this NON-KNITTING post!

Things to add to my list of “to do’s”:

talk to rick about doing this (don’t let him talk until he sees and hears everything – wear my serious face).
write essay
find location (maybe Hogan Corner somewhere?)

My feelings would not be hurt if you shared this ad with others and even if you wanted it yourself. I think they need to receive 2500 entries. So please do share this everyone you know. Maybe someone would want to be a joint partner with me?

OK the ad now…

You Could Win This Business!!

Enter by May 31st 2009

Host:	Natalie Morgan – Owner – The Cool Cow Coffee Company
Type:	Other – Retail
Network:	Global

Start Time:	Friday, March 19, 2010 at 3:55am
End Time:	Monday, May 31, 2010 at 6:55am
Location:	Naselle, WA
Street:	SR4 & SR401
City/Town:	Naselle, WA

Email:

nmorgan@wwest.net

Description

Business Owner
Offers Hope to One Lucky Entrepreneur
And It Could Be You!
Pacific County, Washington

Natalie Morgan, owner of The Cool Cow Coffee Company in Naselle, closed its doors for good, after the town’s most recent disaster. Ms. Morgan had owned the drive thru espresso and deli for eighteen months when she witnessed the rising water from the Naselle River engulf the entire neighborhood before encompassing her business. Now she is hoping to give the opportunity of ownership in a new location to one hopeful entrepreneur and create even more jobs in the process.

Natalie had spent almost two months on the remodel after purchasing the business from its previous owner in June of 2007. She painted it apple red, added cedar shingles to the base of both of the buildings and adorned the structures with all sorts of country details including a life size Holstein cow that had been shipped in from Texas and proudly displayed on a platform at the front of the building. The cow is such an eye catcher that people would often stop to take pictures of her. Natalie even held a contest to name the cow and then let her employees pick the winning name. She planted flowers and hanging baskets in the summer to make the space even more beautiful and painted the picnic tables outside to match the buildings. No detail was overlooked, from the black and white cow patterned tip cups which read “Cow Tipping Allowed” to the little chocolate cow cookies that were given out with each and every beverage and ice cream treat, it was apparent that the new owner had poured her heart into every detail and it did not go unnoticed.

On the day of the flood the water had already overwhelmed the local fire and rescue building located directly across the parking lot from her espresso stand when the phone call came in from the red cross warning people in the area to evacuate. Natalie and her husband quickly moved as much of the equipment as they could up off of the floor, and then they locked the door and drove out through the rising flood water now just inches from the base of their building.

The Cool Cow Coffee Company had already been struggling in it‘s present location and the weak economic condition of one of the poorest counties in the state was not helping the locals to afford the luxury of one of the treats from the towns best coffee kiosks and delicatessen. In December of 2007 Naselle, Nellie the life-size Holstein cow that is perched high above the drive through eatery withstood the one hundred mile an hour winds that had crumpled the metal roof of the fire department next door, but this December that cow would find herself abandoned due to heavy snow fall and an inaccessible mountain of snow and ice left at the entrance of the business by plows clearing the nearby highways.

By the time a local contractor was finally able to clear the two feet of snow surrounding the coffee stand, it had only been open for five struggling days when the flood waters surrounded the buildings causing a power outage to the storage unit and a complete loss of perishable inventory.

The shop has not been opened since that dreadful day, January 6, 2009. With revenue dwindling, cash flow almost nil, inventory gone, quarterlies and property taxes soon due, Natalie had no choice but to close her shop. She applied for assistance from the Small Business Administration’s Disaster Loan program, but was denied because of her inability to pay back the loan due to her recent loss of income.

Even before the flood, like so many other communities and businesses in and across the nation, Naselle’s economy has also been hit hard and with the impending threat to close one of the areas main employers, the Naselle Youth Camp, Ms. Morgan feels that there is simply no hope for her shop to prosper in its present location. Buyers in the area are far and few and even if a buyer were to come along and make an offer equivalent to her initial investment, she could not sell it with a clear conscience knowing full well that it will probably flood there again.

It’s become obvious that if this business is to prosper, than it needs to be moved to an area with improved economic demographics, but Natalie and her husband, Pete, have spent the past five years physically building their home in Naselle and they still have a great deal of work to complete before they could relocate, so moving the business and relocating themselves is not an option at present. With so many people out of work, so many layoffs and so many struggling financially right now, she hoped that somehow she would be able to turn this tragedy into a positive experience for someone whom lived in a more prosperous and populated area and maybe even create a few more jobs in the process.

So she logged onto the Washington State Gaming Commission’s website and while reading through the state gaming regulations, she came across something called an essay contest. In this type of contest the prize is awarded to a winner based on a skill not chance and in this case the skill that each person’s entry will be judged on will be a creative writing project where the subject matter is based on a desire as well as a need to become self employed.

Interested persons are asked to write an essay describing why they should be given her coffee shop and are to pay a $25 entry fee with their essay. The entry fee will help Natalie to recover her initial investment and pay for any sales tax due to Washington State, the cost of the structure(s) relocation including relocation permits and fees by the contractor, free consultation on new site selection and location, all of the business’s equipment by way of a U-Haul rental truck, one week of free training in the shop at it’s new location by the shop‘s previous owner, all signage, menus and $2,000.00 cash to aid with the business’s start up costs, plus a new floor and sub floor to be installed at the building(s) new location.

It’s a win-win for everyone involved. Especially in today‘s difficult economic times. Natalie gets her investment, not to mention her health, back, the state gets a healthy sum of revenue out of the deal, some lucky, possibly even presently unemployed person gets the chance at owning and running their own business and perhaps even creates a few jobs in the process.

Here’s how to enter…

Write an essay explaining your current economic struggles and why you would like to own The Cool Cow Coffee Company.
250 Words Minimum – 500 Words Maximum

Mail it to:
The Cool Cow Coffee Company Essay Contest
Attention: Natalie Morgan
PO Box 502
Naselle, WA 98638

Be sure to include your written essay with your name, address and telephone number printed on the top, include a self addressed stamped envelope and the $25 entry fee. Entries must be postmarked no later than May 31, 2009. We must have at least 2,500 entries in order to award the prize. If we do not receive enough entries by May 31, 2009, your entry fee will be mailed back in the SASE you provide.

If all goes well and we get enough entries to award new ownership, the winner will be notified by phone on June 6, 2009 at 7PM.

Please, due to the high cost of structure relocation we can only relocate this business within five hundred miles of its present location in Naselle, WA. If the business’ new location is to be outside of that five hundred mile radius you will be responsible for paying the difference in relocation costs at the time of signing. The winner must sign title of ownership within 5 days of acceptance of The Cool Cow Coffee Company and will have 30 days from the date of signing to find and prepare a new site for the business to be relocated upon.

A foundation for the main structure of 9‘X18“, all utility hookups, local permits, fees, lease contracts and/or rental agreements are the sole responsibility of the winner. All such arrangements should be made within 30 days of signing the title. The business structure(s) and their contents must be relocated within 30 days of new ownership, or no later than August 15, 2009. The $2,000.00 cash award will be given to the winner on the first day of training. However if financial assistance is needed to aid the new owner with utilities, rent/lease, fees and permits etc., arrangements can be made to draw off of the cash award in the form of checks written directly to these agencies and/or land owners, but not to exceed the total sum of $2,000.00. Training will begin on a date specified by the new owner and will not exceed a 7 day training period in succession.

If you have any questions you may e-mail Natalie at nmorgan@wwest.net. If you would like to see more pictures of The Cool Cow Coffee Company go to You-Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoDrEXR8PQA and view my video.

Color Swap Gift and little treat…

dipladyknits — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 05:23:45 +0000

I’m not sure why it’s taking me so long to get this done. I’m enjoying knitting this cowl and the pattern is simple, yet not boring. A good thing to knit even while chatting. I’ve been working on it at work only, maybe that’s why it’s taken so long. I want to make one other little thing for my color swap partner too, so I better get a move on it. Have you guessed what color this swap is?

The Good Luck Cowl, Cassie & her puppy, and new favorite treat!

Have you seen these cute little one serving ice cream treats? They have lots of flavors. I got them at Safeway, and I love them. They have an itty bitty spoon under the lid and for once, I really am eating just one serving. Portion control at it’s finest! lol

Cassie was trying to help me knit today, and she kept bringing Blondie her puppy to me. She just doesn’t get it… I can’t play and knit at the same time. So I had to let her win over the knitting a few times.

A good Saturday now being put to rest. Tomorrow looks like a nicer day, and we will be going to the beach with the dogs! They are excited, we told them tonight.

Happy Resurrection Day!

dipladyknits — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 16:32:48 +0000

Well here it is Easter and we are having a storm. The wind has been howling all night, and our house (only 8 years old) has been creaking like my legs when I get up from knitting too long!

I feel like I’m driving someone elses car today. Everything seems out of place on my laptop. I keep hitting buttons that open new screens or make things go away, and now I’ve opened a pdf pattern I downloaded last night! It seems as if the wind isn’t just outside blowing!

A week ago I was visiting with a friend, I like to call it taking a Mental Health day (with laptops). I had been complaining about my method of transport for my laptop from home to there and decided to do something about it. We found these awesome little charger bags by BUILT NY. They have 6 little pockets inside to keep your cords all in one neat little place. So I ordered it. And I ordered a laptop bag to go with it! It arrived last week at work and I am so in love with the deep purple laptop bag from BUILT NY and I love the charger bag, and like one side of fabric. The other side looks like it came from a different bolt of fabric or something. I can live with it. Both get a thumbs up.

BUILT NY Laptop and Charger Bag

The picture just doesn’t do the purple justice. It’s a much deeper darker purple. Anyway, I love them both.

ALSO, on the new bag front…

I received my big beautiful DellaQ bag! I have wanted this bag for a very long time. Well to speak the truth, I have wanted the red tweed bag for a very long time. But this is what happened…

While at Madronna this year (my first time) my dear friend Julie and I were going up and down all the rows looking at the beautiful yarns, etc and I see the bag of my dreams. The red tweed DellaQ bag. I say “Oh, Julie I love that bag. I want to get that bag someday.” Julie picks up the bag and starts to look at it. I tell her how wonderful it is with all the room inside for a large knitting project. Or that you could tote it like a purse and knitting bag in one. SHE BOUGHT IT!!! So, how could I get the same bag? Well, I guess I could have, but I just couldn’t afford it. But then….

Along comes fabulousyarn.com and a fabulous price! I love dragonflies and I love blues and greens. And POOF! It’s mine!

Stock photo of Della Q bag

This really is a wonderful web site and I highly recommend you buy everything you can from your LYS, but if you can’t get this bag there, go to fabulousyarn.com. And yes, the red tweed bag is still on my Christmas list!!! There is no rule that says you can only have one of these wonderful bags!

Here is my DellaQ…

B E A U T I F U L !

R O O M Y!

A L L M I N E !!

So what is this obsession with DellaQ bags? Well it’s not just DellaQ stuff, it’s yarn, and patterns and knitting too!

Moving right along…

Please keep my mom in your prayers. She had surgery on Friday to her right shoulder. They fixed a 2 inch tear and shaved the spurs. It’s hard doing everything left handed when you are a right handed person. And I know how strong willed she is, and that it will be very difficult for her to rest and not use it. This might be a long healing time, and I know she wants to get back to her quilts as soon as possible. (she doesn’t knit – shock)

OK, I’m off to knit on the little pink cowl. Have a wonderful day.

Vine Flower Dress is Done!

dipladyknits — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 22:36:38 +0000

Sometimes a little pressure is good. The week before Tawna’s baby shower I cast on for this little cutie.

Vine Flower dress & Big Foot Lion

Pattern: Vine Flower Dress by Anne Hanson

Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton-Ease in Azalea

Needles: size 6

Mods: Changed neck to picot bind off. Changed garter stitch to 5 purl rows before starting the top section. Oh, and I use the size 6 needles for the entire dress.

I really love working with this yarn. It’s soft, washable and inexpensive. Tawna is doing her nursery in safari animals, so I thought the Big Foot Lion was to cute to pass up. I should have taken a picture of his feet. Oh wait, I do have this one picture from the shower (I’m sure Tawna won’t mind me putting this one or two pictures in.)

Tawna and Big Foot Lion

and for Big Foot Lion’s close up (or should I say peeking out).

Big Foot Lion peeking out of the gift bag.

What would a Baby Shower be without food! OK, I should mention that we work with Tawna so this is a lunch time work baby shower. And everyone I work with can sure cook… oh wait, maybe not everyone… sorry Kathy. She tries hard, but she should maybe stick to take out. We love her anyway.

This is what our delightful liscensing queen Lisa made for us… they didn’t last long!

mmmmmmmm chocolate and strawberries!

It was nice shower… and I’m not a big fan of baby showers.

So now I’m off to working on a gift for my Color Swap partner. I want to have it ready to go in the mail at the end of this month. I’ll post more about this soft little project later.

For now I’m off to knit. Have a great Easter weekend.

Always keep your knitting close…

dipladyknits — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 22:46:46 +0000

Did you see this story…

“A 98-year-old woman who survived the L’Aquila earthquake in Italy managed to stay alive in the rubble by knitting.

Maria D’Antuono told rescue workers she spent the 30 hours she was trapped knitting to keep herself busy.

Ms D’Antuono was buried under her bed when her stone home collapsed during the quake in the village of Tempera.

But she was determind to stay alive and told reporters she spent the hours “doing crochet”.

Officials said she was in a good condition.”