Gratitude









This week I'm grateful for...

::  The return of our long night walks

::  Open trails at the state park

::  A rare photo of our oldest son

::  Carefree knitting with a friend

::  A giant pot of chicken chili to keep us nourished through (hopefully) many meals

::  Mud

::  Hints of life returning to the earth






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Knitting and The Clyde Bonnet




I'm so thrilled to share that the Clyde Bonnet is live and available for sale on Ravelry! Thank you so much to all of the test knitters for your insightful comments and ideas.  I think I've knit enough of these bonnets, myself now, for a small village!  If you're not a knitter, you may see a few samples end up in my etsy shop over the next week.


CLYDE BONNET
Sizes Newborn to 10 years
$5.50




In need of something new to knit, in which I didn't have to do any math, I picked up yarn and a new pattern from my friend Aimee at Darn Knit Anyway.  It was a free promotional pattern she designed for  their annual Yarn Shop Hop.  Ravelry notes here.  This is my first time knitting with Malabrigo and now I know what all the fuss is about.  The softness of this worsted merino is a dream.

What are you working on this week?  

Joining in with Ginny.








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I Surrender

I give up.  I give in.  I surrender to mother nature.
















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Spring Sunshine

The sun is shining for the first time in over a week and it feels so good to sit with it's natural warmth on my skin.  I can hear the melting snow fall from the roof, drip by drip, and robins chirping in the crabapple trees across the way.  The little boys and I went for a long bike ride and picked up sticks around the yard just to have an excuse to stay outside a little bit longer. 

Feeling refreshed, and full of energy, I finished up some wool dyeing and started the embroidery handwork on a project I hope to have in the shop in the next week or so.  Can you guess what it might be?

  


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Spring Fever Sale




It's still snowing here in Wisconsin, so we're having a Spring Fever Sale!  

Buy 2 knitting patterns from our Ravelry Shop and get 1 FREE!  

Use Coupon Code 3for2 at checkout.

Valid through April 30th









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It's A Snow Thing



I'm so over this snow thing.  It's dark and dreary and I couldn't get any photos taken of the decluttering progress.  At least I have knitting and this photo from last year on this date to remind me that, even in Wisconsin, the snow can't last forever.

Speaking of knitting, a few of the test knitters, for the Clyde Bonnet, have posted project photos on Ravelry.  They are looking very cute!  

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Knitting


Most of my time this week has been divided between endless games of scrabble, decluttering and writting up a new knitting pattern.  

I had next week's test pattern all written up, I was ready to cast on, when I realized that I completely forgot to account for the underarm stitches.  UGH.  Well, that is the purpose of a test knit after all.  In between semi toddler thirty four year old style fits, I worked on another knitting project, cabin fever block.  I've finished four blocks now and I'm sure to be done by the end of the year, as planned.  They're such fun for car rides, coffee shops with friends, and while waiting my turn at Scrabble.  I'd impose a time limit on taking Scrabble turns, except I really enjoy knitting.

Also, I've quit drinking soda recently.  Mountain Dew and I met in college, and this love affair has gone on far to long.  There, I've said it and I'm moving on.... for my waist line and my health.  I'm replacing it with a lot of unsweetened iced tea and so far it's working perfectly.  I'm also spending a lot of time apologizing for my semi toddler thirty four year old style fits.  My family rocks, though, and are very understanding.  Mike was going to quit this week too, but we decided, for the sanity of the family, that only one of us is allowed to cut out insane amounts of sugar at a time.

If you stop back tomorrow, I'll be sharing an update on my decluttering adventures.  It feels epic.  

What have you been up to this week?


p.s. Joining in with Ginny and Nicole
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Test Knitters




I've sent out emails to the first 10 test knitters who contacted me via gmail. If you were not chosen, I'll have another new pattern to test later in the month. :) Thank you so much to everyone who sent emails and left comments yesterday.  I was blown away with the amount of response and all your kind words!!

The pattern will be released on April 24th, and I've created a page for it over on Ravelry.  If you could pop on over and give it some love, I'd really appreciate it.

~Wishing you a beautiful Thursday~



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Clyde Bonnet

I'm officially calling the kitchen clean up done!  All except the junk drawer, which I'm desperately avoiding.  Instead, I'm moving on to my studio.  Sifting through old projects and notes is a lot more fun than organizing the odd bits of junk anyway.

What's even more exciting is discovering designs that I've knit, most of them I've even photographed, but never taken the time to write up the pattern.  That's what I'm going to work toward this spring.  Completing all my designs from start to finish.  I probably say this every spring, but this year I mean it!



(Size 4 to 6 years)

(Size 6 to 12 Months)

(Size 6 to 12 Months)

(Size Newborn or large newborn sized doll, as shown)



This is the first of many new knitting patterns.....

So I designed this adorable little bonnet a few years ago for all the wee ones (and their dolls) in my family.  It involves my two favorite parts of knitting:  1.) garter stitch and 2.) i cord.  (My friends won't mention to you that I used to curse the two, but I've grown to love them over my knitting years.)  

The bonnet has nice shaping to accommodate the back of the head, while leaving the neck natural, to avoid drafts.  The ties are good for babies and toddlers, because you know, they don't keep hats on their heads.  My older guys also appreciate the ties because when worn with a cape, "it just looks cool".  I love ties for the contrast in color, because I just love a pop of color.

I had a hard time coming up with a name, so I went to my boys.  I've seen many pixie style bonnets with pointy tops, but that just didn't seem a likely name for my bunch.  Jake said, "How about Clyde?"  Well, wouldn't you know, it's a Scottish name that means warm and snug.  Yeah, we're going with Clyde.


I've knit about a half dozen of these bonnets, but I'd like to open this pattern up to test knitters as well.  If you'd like to test knit the Clyde Bonnet, I'll take the first 10 participants.  

A few notes:  The pattern is written for sizes newborn to 10 years.  I used Size 6 (4mm) needles and 220 yards of worsted weight wool for the largest size.  I think a worsted weight cotton would also be lovely for Spring.



Here are the requirements:

*Email me your info at:  thesittingtree at gmail dot com    
*Project Completion Date:  April 20th
*Link completed project and photo to the Clyde Bonnet on Ravelry (I'll get the link posted this week, sometime.)

Thank you so much for participating and I look forward to seeing what colors everyone chooses!

Joining in with Ginny today.




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Bits O' Spring




Ignoring the snow, and taking notice of the little bits o' spring...

::  Warm light through the kitchen window

::  Flowers from a friend

::  An afternoon of open doors and windows

::  Handwork with Cole ~ A Rainbow Wreath

::  Changing the Botanical Calendar we made last fall, from September to April.

::  Loving that we don't live life by a calendar.


What does spring look like around your home?



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April Sponsors

A big welcome to our New Sponsors for April!










Moon Root Soaps and Candles:  Soaps from the Earth

Moon Root makes handmade organic soaps and body butters, and 100% soy wax candles. All products are scented with pure essential oils.  Our home made and sustainable approach to making our products promote a healthy planet and take care of your body, mind, and soul.

Moon Root Soaps is generously offering a 10% off coupon for her etsy shop.  Use coupon code SITTINGTREE




Beautifully Crafted Quilts * Hand Dyed Playsilks * Vinage Inspired Aprons * Other Artful Bits



We'd also like to welcome back Armadillo Dreams!

Dustin and Amanda create natural, waldorf inspired wooden toys for all ages.







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