Cuteness Overload

These dogs can be a real pain when they are destroying things and acting up. However, it is times like these when my heart melts. It is hard to believe they can be little monsters.

Little Monsters

Little monsters are in my shop! I have been playing around with polymer clay lately. I love these guys. They are just so cute!

Poor Little Abby Dog

Abby busted her back right knee/leg jumping off the sofa last week. At least I assume that is what happened. She was asleep on the sofa while I was cooking. The next thing I see is her limping down the hall.

After a few days she was still catering to it so I took her into the vet. She is taking some meds. The medication knocks her out and she is kinda spacey. It breaks my heart to see her like this but I just want her to get better. She has an appointment tomorrow for a little puppy chiropractic care. I know it sounds weird by my chiro guy said he would take a look at her. Aww...I hope she lets him.

BOM August 2011

Second block done! This one was a little more work as far as piecing it together. I did have some trouble with getting the seams flat. There are some areas where you can see some puckering of the fabric. I am going to have to work on that.

Accordion Books - Custom Order

Just packaged up a really nice custom order of 8 accordion books. These are large enough to hold 4x6 photos. They turned out really nice! I almost didn't want to have to mail them! I am going to be making more of this size. I have small ones in my shop but I really like the larger ones too.

Doodles

I am trying to do a doodle a day. My doodles will be on my website.

Zigzag Spider

Here is a little spider I found in some clover and rosebushes a few weeks ago. He has the zigzag stitch down!

Loot from TDF!

I should probably mention that I won something in TDF! In the Browncoats team I won some really cool decals! You kinda need to be a Firefly fan to get the humor. But I love them and I can't decide where to stick them. I am thinking my laptop but I don't know just yet...

Artcat was the generous donor of the decals. Check out her shop!

BOM! July 2011

In my attempts to learn every kind of art/craft there is, I want to master this sewing thing! I love the idea of making quilts so I have joined the Block of the Month group of Sew Mama Sew to try to learn more about quilt making. So far so good.

I will be making one block a month for a year. They are modern themes so nothing too traditional. Here is my block from July 2011.

Things I have learned so far: I really need to focus on sewing a straight line. Just being slightly wonky made my block size off. Other than that, I think I did great on this block!

Need More Jazz

I find that I am always looking at Abby. She is an in your face kind of dog. I don't feel like I get to hang out with Jazz as much because Abby is usually involved.

Lately, Jazz and I have been spending some time on the sofa together while Abby sleeps in the bedroom. I really like our little time together. She comes out and naps on the pillows. Jazz is so cute!

End of TDF2011

This was a great deal of fun. I loved watching the race and trying to keep up with my spinning. My stats are in the picture.

Day 22 - TDF2011

I have been working on the second half of my silk. I think I am spinning faster but I don't think I am going to be able to get it all spun and plyed by the end of tomorrow. Oh well. I will keep spinning it until it is done!

Week 2 - TDF2011

Yeah, I went from Day to Week. I have been really busy this week. I have managed to get some spinning done though. I finished all my green/yellow alpaca. I got 4 skeins out of it. I did one art yarn with lots of coils, granny stacks, shells, etc. The other three skeins are plyed with beaded silk thread. So, I guess the work I was doing besides spinning was sorting & carding fiber batts and beading thread. Those things take time. I spun a total of 6hr 15min this week. Not bad when my goal was 30min a day.

333yds of dk/fingering weight beaded yarn & 51yds bulky art yarn.

First Tomato

I have my first tomato! This is the first time I have gardened by myself and I actually got a tomato growing! I do have to give credit where credit is due. I wouldn't have gotten this tomato with out the bees! I thought I was going to have to pollinate my plants myself but then the crape myrtle bloomed and the rose tree started to bloom again and the bees became interested in our yard. So, thank you bees! The bee in this pic wouldn't stay still. I finally got him but he is out of focus.

Lettuce is also coming up. I can't wait to eat that! Mmmm.

Day 8 - TDF2011

Yesterday was not a good spinning day. I had so much trouble with this bamboo on the trindle. I don't know why the bamboo wasn't spinning right. I have spun it many times and never had this much trouble. I think I will try spinning it on a wheel and see what happens.

Anyway, on to the exciting news! I finally finished an ounce of silk!!! I still have another ounce to spin so I can ply them but I am so relieved to have finished the first leg of thin spinning on the first week of the tour. Next week will be dedicated to trying to finish the next ounce. I spun for 2 hours and 50 minutes today.

Day 6 - TDF2011

Today was an adventure in spinning. I watched the race and spun my thin silk. Then I took my trindle and some bamboo out and about. I missed my bus so I did some spinning. Not the best conditions: HOT & breezy. I got a little done on the bus too until the drivers started to drive crazy. Total hours of spinning today =2.

Day 5 - TDF2011

No pics today. I was able to spin for 1hr 27min. I had a hard time keeping the silk super thin while spinning in the evening. I think I just like spinning in the morning.

Day 4 - TDF2011

I spun for a total of 3 hours today! I worked on the silk. It is so thin! I don't think I have even made it through an ounce of fiber yet!

Day 3 - TDF2011

No pictures today. I only got 45 minutes of spinning in today. I am still ahead of my goal of spinning for an hour a day though. Day three and I have almost 6 hours done. I worked on the silk I started yesterday. I hope that this isn't the only project I can get done during the tour. It is going to take some time though because of how thin I am spinning it.

Day 2 - TDF2011

I spun another 2 oz. batt of alpaca and silk. I have more fiber prep to do to spin the other half of this yarn. So, I decided to keep spinning instead of carding. I pulled out some mulberry silk from wolliebullie. I am spinning this really thin! It is going to be a great lace-weight yarn.

*2 oz. alpaca/silk louet ratio 8.5 2hrs

*silk louet ratio 8.5 1hr

Total of 3 hours of spinning.

Day 1 - TDF2011

I spun some carded (by me) alpaca and silk. The alpaca is from my friend Xiane. She gave me a bunch of green and yellow alpaca, super soft! The silk is from Silver Sun Alpacas. I dyed it blue.

*2oz. drum carded to smooth batt

*Alpaca & Mulberry Silk

*Louet/Julia ratio 8.5 (lots of twist)

*Spun 2 hours total

July- 4th sale and Tour de Fleece

I am going to be doing Tour de Fleece. Basically, you spin while Tour de France is going. So, July 2nd - 24th I will be spinning. I hope to get about an hour a day. There are two rest days just like the cyclists. This is going to be so much fun! I have already joined three groups: The Sprinters - this is for fine lace weight spinning. Team Phat cause I have lots of Phat Fiber. And last but not least Team Browncoats - cause Firefly is awesome!

I also have a couple of promos going on in my shop. This weekend I am offering 15% off everything! Code: HAPPY4TH2011 (ends July 5th) And the second thing I am doing is offering free fiber samples with every order. I want to encourage people to spin this month too!

EDIT: And Team Louet!

Father's Day

I have been with my dad this whole week. He has been really sick and in the hospital. I am relieved that he seems to be getting better and should be coming home today. Just in time for father's day! I won't be home till Sunday but I am reopening my store early so that I can offer a coupon of 10% off everything in the shop. Coupon code: DAD011 That on top of free shipping! You can't beat it!

While down here I have made some skull necklaces. I am offering them in my shop as well. Check them out!

Magnolia Tree

My very first post to this blog was three years ago today. It was of a magnolia blossom on UVA campus. I took it with my cell phone. Now three years later I have my own yard and a magnolia tree in it. Times have really changed! I love the blooms of a magnolia tree.

Free Shipping

I have put some new things in my Etsy Shop! I am also going to be offering FREE Shipping to US and Canada for the entire month of June!

I plan on getting some new yarn in the shop this week.

Rose Tree in Bloom

It has been a little over three years since I survived graduated from college. My brother gave me this beautiful rose tree when I graduated. I wasn't sure it was going to survive the move or the winter. I had to cut it back a lot and now it is blooming. I think I am getting good at keeping plants alive! :) It smells fantastic btw!

Mel May 2011

Mel (my orchid) is blooming again. He only has two blooms. He is in desperate need of a re-potting. However, he started his blooming cycle right when I was going to do it. I am surprised he had it in him. I think I would have gotten at least six flowers if he had a fresh mix. I plan to re-pot him soon.

Green Pepper Bloom

My pepper and tomato plants are growing nicely. The pepper plants are starting to bloom.

Mara Shawl

I finally finished a shawl! Pottery has taken over my time so I don't knit as much as I used to. This was an easy shawl to make and I took it with me everywhere. The pattern is here. I actually finished it earlier this month but haven't had the time to photograph it till today.

Waiting for Daddy

Abby loves looking out the window. She will lay in her little doggie bed most of the day keeping watch and sleeping. When it is time for Daddy to come home she stands guard by the door. This morning when he ran out to get OJ for breakfast she waited for him. She is so cute!

May Giveaway Winner!

I want to thank all of you who entered! I really appreciate the time you took to give me feedback. It was extremely helpful and encouraging so THANK YOU again! Now, onto the winner!

The winner is #90 so that would be jbrgeternity! Congratulations!

May Giveaway Day!

Sew Mama Sew is hosting another Giveaway Day! There are hundreds of blogs participating. I am one of them so, WELCOME!

I am giving away a hand-spun skein of art yarn made from all kinds of fibers, mostly wool. This is one of my test skeins to see if I really was allergic to wool. The answer is yes which means I can't use it but maybe you can make something out of it in your crafting adventures. There is about 83 yards.

In addition to the yarn I am including two of my project notebooks. Both books have the Turkish spindle on the covers and are hand sewn with baker's twine. I am also including a notions bag/cosmetic bag in the whole deal. I used this pattern to make it.

How to enter: Just go to my etsy shop, take a look around, come back here and let me know what you like, don't like or leave any constructive feedback. That is it! One entry per person. This giveaway is open internationally too. Please leave your email in your comment or have your email turned on in your blogger profile. All entries must be in by 11:59pm (EST) of the 25th. The winner will be selected by a random number generator and announced on May 26th.

Note about email & blogger: Please check your profile settings. If you're a 'no reply' blogger and you don't leave an email address in your comments there is no way of contacting you should you win! If you're not sure what I mean by 'no reply' blogger read this Post it will improve your chances of winning anything, anywhere by a 100% (copied from Where the Orchids Grow)

Thanks for stopping by and good luck with all the giveaways! Make sure to check them all out.

Free Stuff coming soon

Giveaway Day is coming up soon! I will be participating again because I had so much fun last time! It will be May 23rd thru May 25th. Mark your calendars! I am working on a great giveaway!

Twine Notebooks

I listed my baker's twine notebooks...finally. You can find them here

I hope to get some yarn up soon too. It just takes me awhile to actually want to sit down and list things.

Yesterday, I dyed some silk hankies. I think they turned out ok but I am not 100% happy with them. I will have to see what they look like spun. Abby is not that impressed. She does love her little window though.

I also did some spinning. I like to call this yarn Mustard and Ketchup.

Just a Quick Note

There was a family emergency last week so the things I had planned have been pushed back a week. I am slowly getting back into the swing of things.

Swapping Handmade Items

I got this lovely project bag and stitch markers from Ballee in the mail this week.

It was my first swap and I had so much fun! The Dutch themed project bag really gets me in the mood for spring! It is made very well and holds a good size project. I suggest stopping by Ballee's Etsy Shop. She has some great knitty things!

I made a set of notebooks for the swap. It is very inspiring. I also made little envelopes for each book. I really enjoyed the creative freedom of making something for someone. I will have a set of the colorful notebooks sewn with matching baker's twine available in my shop later this week.

Fulfilling a Dream (another one)

It has been a long time coming but I am finally learning how to throw pottery on a wheel. It has been a dream of mine since I was about 8 years old. I don't know why it has taken me this long but it has. I am learning from Nan Rothwell. Her influence has been in my life since birth. My father knew her and had some bowls she made. As a child my family used those bowls for mixing or salads or whatever. As an adult I now have them and still use them all the time. It amazes me what an impact art can make at such an early age and how it can be a staple of life.

Needless to say I am thrilled to be learning pottery from Nan! Last night was my first attempt at throwing on a wheel. I did great! I made several bowls that I hope make it through the whole process. Next week I have to trim the bottoms. I know I will be taking advantage of practice time in the coming weeks because I have done nothing else today but think of pottery.

Having this raw material in my hands to mold and form is very odd and exciting at the same time. It is not an easy thing but I still have the sense memory of my experience last night. My hands and brain are trying to figure out what just happened to them.

I feel like spinning has prepared me for pottery. I have learned to use both hands for two different things at once. I learned to control the twist that is let into the fibers while drafting and pedaling a wheel. Pottery is completely different but oddly similar to me too.

I hope to have pictures next time. I forgot to take a camera with me last night.

Other News:

My Etsy store is doing well. I am having a good time learning book making. This I am teaching myself. I do have some yarns that are ready to list for sale. I just need to find some time to get them up there.

Color tests

I was doing some color tests the other day. I didn't see why I should waste the paper so I made a couple of little books. One is just folded. The other has some pockets to hold scrap paper and a lovely paper glued to the back.