Well, hello there!

Ack, has it really been a month? I know I haven't been the best blogger over the past year, but I was really trying to be better. I've even had things to say and posts mostly composed in my head and pictures uploaded to the computer. But then that thing happened where I waited too long and felt like my re-entry post had to be something really, really epic to make up for the serious lack of posting, and then for each day that went by I felt the post had to be that much more amazing...that's a lot of pressure for something that's supposed to be an informal knitting blog. So here I am again, and unfortunately this post is not going to be amazing. There won't even be pictures of knitting in it. But I had to start somewhere, and that somewhere will be a little recap of what's been going on since the 18th of December.

1. Christmas
Well, Christmas was insane. We had a wonderful time with my family, but my the way we do things was exhausting with a baby. See, both of my parents are from the same area where I grew up and most of both families are still there, too, so we spend both Christmas Eve and Christmas day with both sides. I just counted -- we had no fewer than eight separate events, in two towns a half hour apart, over the two days. How Daniel napped at all is beyond me. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved seeing so much family and introducing them to the little guy. But it was a lot.

But Daniel was a trooper and looked pretty cute doing it.


Hide the keys.


Why yes, we did get almost-matching jammies from Santa. Neill got some too, which I am not allowed to share on the internet. But oh how I wish I could.


Daniel loves any and all modes of transportation.

2. Secret Publication Knitting
Through it all, and also adding to the radio silence, I had two publication pieces to knit and write patterns for by the beginning of January. And then after sending off the second one, I was so bummed to see it go that I had to knit myself another one. That's a whole month's worth of knitting that I'm not allowed to show anyone.

3. New Website!
You may notice that The Yarniad has undergone a complete makeover. My amazing, fantastic, dear friend, Brenda, has been doing the design work and I am in love. The site is allllmost done, and it makes me so happy every time I look at it. I've been doing a lot of digital organizing, too, so there is now a dedicated patterns page, projects page, FAQ area, etc. This is something I've been wanting to do for awhile and it's been really fun carrying it out.

4. New Logo!
Do you see my new Yarniad logo?! Brenda did that, too. The cirle-y bit is an abstract yarn ball that also echoes the ceiling of the Pantheon...I think it looks like an atomic symbol, too, which pays homage to my sciencey day job. I love Brenda!

5. Flickr Group
What else? Ah! In all the website-excitement, I also created a Flickr group where you can add photos of things you've knit from Yarniad patterns. The images feed right to the sidebar here. Come join and show off your work!

6. Citron Licenses and Pattern Copies
After being contacted several times by folks who either would like to sell finished Citrons, include copies of the pattern in yarn kits, etc., I am now offering a home business license ($30 for unlimited, all-you-can-knit access) as well as a wholesale pdf of the pattern ($2 a pop). I hope to put both up on the site for instant-downloadability soon, but for now, please e-mail if you're interested!

7. Colds and Various Ickiness
Since it got "cold", either Daniel or I has been sick at least every other week. Neill somewhat less frequently. I thought breastfeeding was supposed to give him an unstoppable immune system! I guess the only thing unstoppable is the petri dish that is his daycare classroom.

8. Downton Abbey
It's amazing, right?

9. Etc.
I've said this several times, but I will be getting back into a (more) regular blogging groove and getting this post up was half the battle. Thanks for stopping by -- I appreciate everyone who has ever read a single post here more than I'll ever be able to say. I hope you're having a great 2012 so far, and hope to see you again here very soon!