Saturday

Cowgirl Yarns and Ewe Count

by Phoebe
The "Hot August Knits" yarn shop crawl is a two-week event taking place at nine yarn shops in Colorado and Wyoming.  We were privileged to be a part of this event~ signing books at Cowgirl Yarns in Laramie and Ewe Count in Cheyenne.  Shoppers are given passports at their first stop and then have the opportunity to enter drawings, including the chance to win a gigantic basket of yarnie goodness if they have their passports stamped at all nine of the shops... I wonder who the lucky winner will be?

Cowgirl Yarns is located in a classic area of "old town" Laramie that would be a great location for a film... check out these great storefronts!

My favorite one is the purple awning with the stripes!

Lori has a lovely shop and a friendly group of knitters to boot- the perfect combination.  These knitters are busy working on some great projects.

Kelsey works here at Cowgirl and is making a cotton baby blanket using a clever Tunisian Crochet technique.

Mother is signing books and sharing a laugh with Sheila...

whose son, Noah, who also happens to be a knitter!

Christie is a writer who brought a treat for Mother (dark chocolate truffle!) to bribe her to share some of her publishing secrets... and they had a great time talking about writing and publishing.  It must have been a day for talking with writers...

as this is Sandra, who is also a writer and had a great "writer's talk" with Mother, too.  She and her daughter, Zoe had a lovely first visit to Cowgirl Yarns today!

It was time to move on to Ewe Count... but not without leaving our mark:
Jessie and Woody, our favorite cowgirl and cowboy,
drawn by Sister. 
Thank you Cowgirl Yarns, we can't wait to come back and visit!

Ewe Count is located in a cute house in a charming part of Cheyenne.  Penny carries a wide variety of yarns, patterns, and needlework supplies.  When we arrived, there was quite a big group of knitters and readers waiting for us!  We had a great time meeting everyone that came to the signing in Cheyenne!
What a day!  Thank you, Ewe Count, for hosting the signing!  Happy Reading, and Happy Knitting everyone!

Friday

Cover art underway...

The cover art for the second book from Slate Falls Press is underway... a first version was on display at TNNA and the "East Coast" book tour in June.  Now the final version of the cover is being carefully illustrated as you see here in the drawing studio.  The drawings, the knitting patterns, and the photos are in careful process this week, and will be released together in the next book which will likely be published this winter.  We will be sure to keep you updated on our progress as we go!

Tuesday

Needlearts Champion...

by Phoebe I never knew there was such a thing as a Needlearts Champion... and now there is one living at our house!  Sister is a very skilled and mostly self-taught embroidery artist, and entered a beautiful sewing piece in our county fair through our 4-H club.  She won champion at the County Fair and proceeded to the State Fair where she won state champion!  At the county level she even earned a little cash prize (which was immediately spent on more embroidery thread.)  We are so proud of this sewing artist!

Friday

In Which I Win a Book!


by Joanna
This past week we received two lovely packages in the mail- a copy of Shannon Okey's new book, The Knitgrrl Guide to Professional Knitwear Design, and some laceweight wool yarn that we ordered from a little yarn shop in Nebraska.  Thank you, SkaMama, for hosting the blog giveaway that I won, and Shannon, for the great book!  Intense reading beginning in T-minus 3..2...

Wednesday

Idaho Gifts!

What a very special hand crafted gift set this lucky girl has received!  Here you see the complete package- the doll, the girl's sweater (can you see the beautiful fabric buttons?), the matching sweater for the doll, and her very own copy of Phoebe's Sweater... someone loves this dear child very much!
Thank you, homemadeoriginals, for sharing this heirloom gift set you have created for your precious granddaughter! 

Monday

Knitcircus book review

Knitcircus magazine posted a lovely review of Phoebe's Sweater today.  A big thank you to Talitha Kuomi for the great review, and also to knitcircus magazine for sharing it on their blog!  Happy Reading, Happy Knitting!

Saturday

In Father's Studio~ Hand Lettering

by Phoebe
He is a graphic artist by day, and moonlights as an illustrator here at Slate Falls Press.  He loves to draw and paint. 
He also loves to hand letter... anything.  This month he has been doing a lot of lettering on the weekends...

Some things he letters are slow, like this classic sailboat.

Some are fast, like this racecar. 

Here are the valve covers for this historic restoration.  This Salt Flats racecar broke a speed record by going 235 miles per hour back in the early 1950's.

That's fast!  My dad and grandpa study old photographs of these cars to recreate the lettering to look just like it originally did.  And if you were wondering where it all started... it was back when...

...my dad was a kid and helped his father out at his shop.  This is a craft that has been passed down through the generations.

And it looks like Sister will be carrying the tradition on.

Wednesday

Jump Rope Dress ~oliver + s

Back in June, when we went to Loop and Spool, we bought the fabric and pattern to sew this dress. It is called the Jump Rope Dress and is from pattern company Oliver + S.

  The pattern includes some neat "tailorly" details like button tabs and a cuff at the sleeve, a sash with belt loops, a button placket up the front bodice, and button-flap pockets.

It is a perfect dress for playing, reading, drawing, pretending... all of the things Sister loves to do.  Not to mention-

jumping!

and twirling!

Monday

Washer Woman

by Phoebe
There is something blissful about doing the washing by hand.  And after all of my travels this summer I really enjoyed being home to do this task the old-fashioned way.

I let the garments soak for about fifteen minutes.

After everything was neatly on the line I sat and enjoyed the simplicity of a job well done.

"We should all do what, in the long run, gives us joy, even if it is only picking grapes or sorting the laundry."
~E.B. White

Saturday

Kaua'i Adventures

by Phoebe
The Kilauea Lighthouse is one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited.  It is located on the northernmost part of the Hawaiian islands.

 I had an easy time hiking the stunning Kalalau Trail hike- my travelling companion carried me!

Look at this beautiful handwoven bowl- clever!

On a boat ride to...

This turquoise paradise.

This is the best place ever to get shave ice... yum!

Now time to relax... and enjoy the beautiful sunset...

What a wonderful week it was!  Thank you most kindly Mrs. Jelly (and Mr. Jelly) for the wonderful trip.  I had a great time, but am starting to feel homesick and am missing my family!

Wednesday

To the Island!

by Phoebe
Here I go!

Safely arrived...

Everything here is beautiful!

Adventures to follow!