Yarn from heaven

So yesterday was a very interesting day. I set out for my LYS and to meet a couple of friends for lunch later then I wanted. As I was leaving I realized I hadn't checked the mail the day before, so I stopped and did that and found a package for me. It's always nice to get a package, especially when it is unexpected. Inside the package was 2 skeins of this...I have no idea who decided I needed a yarn pick-me-up since so far no one has taken credit and there was no note in the package. I have a feeling I know who it might be. So, if you are the one, then THANK YOU!!!! It's beautiful and I love it and it made me smile, still does.

Now, as I told everyone at the yarn shop, when the yarn gods smile and send you yarn from the heavens you are REQUIRED to start a project. I looked through the patterns over on Ravelry, and decided on Nelly. I think it will be just the right look. I'm doing mine on a size 7 needle to get the feel I wanted. Here's how it looks so far.Oh and if you want some of this yarny goodness for yourself I recommend you go visit Twisted Fiber's shop and purchase yourself some. I'm planning on getting more when the elusive job finally comes along.

After all that goodness you know something has to not go well. Tonight I'm trying to print stuff for tomorrow. Of course I ran out of ink, on BOTH my printers and I can't finish. So, I'll do what I can and forget about the other. I'm very upset, but I did put it off until the day before and that's what I get for procrastinating.

Before I forget my friend Melody is having a contest over on her blog. Go see the yarny goodness and get yourself entered.

Blog Eye Candy

I know, it took me long enough, but finally some pictures.

Let's start with the most recently completed piece of stitching.

Halloween Fairy
by Mirabilia

I made a few changes. First, this is stitched on a hand-dyed fabric in my stash and that meant I had to change one of the orange colors in her dress. I found some beautiful fabric and I'll be making a stand-up box out of her. She should be finished in time to be admired during October.

I don't think I mentioned before, but while we were in WV on vacation, my Mom, Aunt and I went out shopping through some of the antique shops. While this is not an antique it was something that I knew would be very handy to store yarn and would look pretty somewhere in the house. Mom thought it would make a great birthday present. We were both right! It's not where it will end up, but it does look pretty in the corner of the dining room. (And before someone asks, no that's not all of my yarn stash, but the 2nd tier holds all the yarn for my Great American Aran Afghan that I'm working on.)

I do know I mentioned going to Atlanta and spending part of my time stitching with a group of friends there. Well, we do more then stitch...
This was lunch on Saturday, or at least part of lunch. That green stuff is mint pesto left over from the previous evenings Harry Potter part at chez Lott made by the very talented Chef Andy. It was beyond YUM.

We also exchanged our ornament kits.That's what it looks like all lined up before "Santa" hands out the goodies.

There are actually some "ornamentfied" pieces on the tree, but they are hard to pick out. Most of us managed to finish stitching our ornaments and that was good enough to decorate the tree with.

Come back tomorrow for pictures of some of my current knitting WIPS.

I'm so excited

Why am I excited? Because I'm going to corrupt teach someone else the joys of sampler stitching. My friend Jackie, who's knitting and quilting can be seen on her blog here wants to join the craziness fun. She's decided on a pattern, a lovely freebie from Blackbird Designs and I'm going to gift her some linen from my stash. We're going to pick out her thread tomorrow and have our first lesson for stitching on linen Monday.

Stitching is my first love and what I always go back to at some point. I don't stitch every day, but I love what you can do with a piece of fabric, some beautiful thread/fiber and a few stitches. Jackie knows how to cross stitch, and wants to learn other decorative or fancy stitches. I can't wait to teach her. I hope she enjoys it as much as I do. So if my stitching buddies would stop by and encourage her a little I'd appreciate it.

Booking Through Thursday

Since I decided to participate in the Summer Reading Challenge over on GoodReads.com I figured I might as well share some of what I've read with you my fellow readers. Beware, I tend to have eclectic tastes in reading so you never know what you're going to find. I also happened across a meme blog entitled Booking Through Thursday, so here's today's entry.




What’s the best book you’ve read recently?

I'm going to go with the one that surprised me the most and was also good.

One of the challenges was to read a Dystopian novel. I ended up choosing this on a whim while browsing through my favorite used bookstore, Chamblin's. I was surprised to find that although the book made me uncomfortable, I also enjoyed it. The idea of a future world where when you reach a certain age you receive surgery that makes you "pretty" just like everyone else is unnerving and just a little scary. Who decided what is "pretty"? Along the way more questions are uncovered by the main character, Tally Youngblood, who is about to become old enough to be a "Pretty" and leave behind her "Uglies" days. Is the surgery just about changing the way people look, or is there more? Of course, since this is a series all the questions haven't been answered, but that just made me want to read the rest.

"Uglies" and the rest of the series, are considered YA, but I think they are certainly a good read for all ages. I do wish I belonged to an actual reading group and that we were reading it with the group. I think it deserves some thought and discussion to be fully understood.

So, what's the best book you've read lately?

No I didn't break my fingers

But apparently I've lost the gizmo I use to load pictures from my camera to my laptop. Every day I thought I'd find it and would be able to write a blog post with pictures. Hasn't happened yet and I've not broken down and bought a new gizmo, but I did decide I needed to get back to blogging.

So since I last posted I've:
1. Been to West Virginia to visit with family for 2 weeks.

2. Applied for several jobs and spoken to a few headhunters.

3. Went to Atlanta for my birthday and to stitch with my friends.

4. Did I mention the job hunt?

5. Packed my winter clothes away. I realize this doesn't sound like much but it was a major undertaking, and yes, I live in FL so why I have that many winter clothes is the question of the century.

6. Helped out at the yarn shop and even taught a few classes.

7. Went to see a friend play a gig at the Jacksonville Landing. Wait I have a picture. This is Derrick, or if you go to iTunes Ace Winn where his new CD 3127 is available. I'm blessed to sing with Derrick on Sunday's and especially this Sunday when the two of us will lead worship at our 9:45AM service while our regular worship leader is out of town.

8. Finished some stitching and some knitting which I promise to have pictures of later. Started some new projects. I'm trying to finish one stitching project that I've been working on for at least 10 years. I'm so close. Hopefully soon.

I'm sure there's more, but for now that will have to do. I'll try not to go quite so long without a post. Maybe everyone hasn't given up on me and there might still be a few people who will read this.

It's all about the books

Well, I might be, but not any more then normal. I've decided to join in the Summer Reading Challenge on GoodReads.com that started Monday. To actually complete the challenge I'd have to read I think 70 books before August 31st. I don't see that happening. What I do hope to accomplish is to read some of the books on my "to-read" list. Some of them have been on there a very long time. (Small plug, if you are looking for a simple way of keeping track of what you read and for ideas of new books and authors to read I highly recommend GoodReads.com.) I'll have to wait to post my list of books so far, not enough time right now.

But speaking of reading...here's a chance to win a book. Oh and take a stroll through the blog while you're there, it has some interesting material.

A Start & A Finish

First the start.

On Saturday I "taught" a class using the great Ann Norling pattern "The Perfect Tee". This is a great pattern because it has a wide range of sizes and gives you instructions for making the shirt in several different gauges. I decided to make something for my mom so I went with a pretty purple/lavender ribbon yarn from Berroco. We started with the sleeves, so that people would get through their border pattern before they left the class. I've worked on it a bit each day since and here's what I have so far.


I really do love how it's looking, but it's a little fiddly, as I was telling one of my on-line friends earlier. this color will look amazing on my beautiful mother, very much her color. Would be awesome if I could finish it for our family reunion at the end of June. Not sure that can be done, but I can sure try.

Now the finish.

For those who don't know, I also do some beading. I've been known to make a necklace or bracelet in my time. I haven't done much in while, but I've had something laid out on my beading board for months, maybe close to a year. I couldn't get it to look the way I saw it in my head. The other night I sat down with it again and it just clicked...right to the point where I didn't have a clasp that was heavy enough to hold. That meant a trip to get some, which worked out well and today I sat down and finished it. Ta da...


I wish I remembered where I picked up the main piece of dichroic glass but when I got it I knew it was perfect for my mom. It's got lots of other glass and crystal beads. She's tried it on and it looks lovely on her.

In other news, I made a salad today and used the tomatoes and one of the bell peppers I picked last evening. Made a great balsamic vinaigrette with some oregano also from my containers garden. Added in some goat cheese and a little ham...yummy goodness and healthy!