Billy's early birthday gift.

Billy turns the big 1-0 in three weeks. He has a long list of stuff for us to pick what we wanted to get him for his birthday. A bike being one of them. I don't think Billy's ever had a brand new bicycle before.

With the days cooling down quickly we decided to give it to him now, rather then wait another three weeks.

He came home from school and I handed him a pile of laundry to put away. He couldn't open his door because the bike had fallen over against it. He was shocked and thrilled with his early birthday gift.

Instagram: I'm addicted.

My newest addiction is Instagram.
If you'd like to follow me, I'm: melissalaurelriley

Declan and Dad

September in a nutshell.

What we've been up to lately...
Sept 4th was the first day school, (God bless their teachers!!)


Logan is playing soccer


Ben is playing soccer


Garrett started Pre-K




We are still adjusting to going from no dog...to a 70lb boxer.

I've been dying yarn,






and knitting as much as possible,


And trying to soak up every second with Declan as it won't be long before he's in school and I'm forced to grow up and get a real job.

The Lifeguard Stand

During the summer we visit a local state park beach 1-3x's a week depending on Shaun's schedule and the weather. As summer winds down, and the tourist leave, the beach transforms from busy tourist dump to a serene wonderland. No tourist means no lifeguard. :) So we got to play on their stand.

The ramp is much harder to walk up and down then you would think.


Look at me and smile!


That's as good as it's going to get...

Future Lifeguard


Future Lifeguards


Going down...they always send the little one down first...

Ben the brave was next...I spy a plan hatching in Garrett's mind...


Garrett throws himself down...butt first...expecting to slide all the way to the bottom. But instead the little strips of texture stopped him. He didn't slide at all. He just went "thump" and then inched down on his butt as he was not about to let go of his brilliant plan. His butt must have hurt a bit, but he gets mad props for knowing there is an easier way to get down a steep incline.


It started to thunder and we saw storm clouds roll in about a mile away so we packed up and left our little slice of heaven behind.

Kettle Dyed :: Silver Lilac, Turquoise Brown, Light Turquoise Silver Brown

OOAK kettle dyed colorways on Kona Worsted Superwash yarn. I can repeat them but not exactly as I layered the colors at will. They are not hand painted colorways, they are intricate layers of colors which results in two skeins never being exactly the same.

I'm using the Silver Lilac to knit Maggie a sweater. The Turquoise Brown will be something for Declan or Garrett, and the Light Turquoise Silver Brown will be going in my Etsy shop once I get it re-skeined.

Colorway :: Petunia

Petunia :: Purple, lilac, yellow/green, light turquoise, and coral pink.

Petunia on Aran BFL

A color filled Monday.

I dyed 2.5 pounds of wool today. A few skeins of Aran BFL, and every last bit of Kona worsted superwash I had.

Knitting Update: 6/7/2012

I've been knitting non-stop since my last knitting update. All my project notes can be found in my ravelry project page/profile: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/melissalaurel

I dyed the blue semi-solid yarn for these, the colorway is "Woodland in Spring" by Mosaic Moon. They are for a re-peat customer.





I knit these small/medium shorties and put them in my Etsy shop earlier this week.

A scrappy cardigan on 3ply merino, all dyed by Mosaic Moon. Buttons are from Tessa Ann:


This little top/dress was done on Organic Gaia Aran which was dyed by Mosaic Moon in their "New Beginnings" colorway with matching trims:



I knit a soaker from the same yarn to match it:

The set would make an beautiful "take home" set for a newborn baby girl.

Rainbow soakers in sizes Medium, Small, and Newborn:

A soaker knit in my own "Beach Boy" colorway:

On the needles right now I have...
This newborn sized sweater that's done on fingering weight yarn that I dyed in a line green semi-solid.
I have to buy a needle before I can finish it (magic loop the arms):



A medium/large'sih shorties that will be up on Etsy later this week:


I'm casting on a pair of longies for Declan next.

Maine Fiber Frolic 2012

This is the second year we attended the Maine Fiber Frolic. I have left both times feeling inspired and re-energized. It was cool and damp this year so the boys didn't seem to have as much fun but the animals were a huge hit.

We watched Border Collie dogs heard sheep and goats around a field. The dogs were amazing, I could have watched them all day.
















This sheep "Baaaaaa'd" loudly in Declan's face scaring the crap out of him. Poor kid was pouring crocodile tears and shaking for a few minutes afterwards. Maybe the sheep got excited...you know....when he noticed Declan was also wearing wool. :)


My mom holding an adorable angora bunny.


The beautiful skein of yarn my mother bought me. It's a gorgeous deep red which will be one of these someday: Zuzu's Petals


Maybe next year I'll have it together enough to be a vendor.