i can’t take credit for this great idea. blogger angry chicken came up with the simple idea of taking clothespins, baking twine and wooden stars to make custom picture hangers for children. i fell in love with the idea because being so far away from my little birthday boy means i don’t have the opportunity to see him often. maybe i will get lucky and he will hang a picture of me!
well happy birthday my little nephew- i love you very much.
took the ferry from sandbanks to studland for lunch.
sandbanks is the fourth most expensive place to live in the world (according to the bbc) and is a short ferry ride from studland... no- there was no sunning at their nude beach today it was off to a charming pub which serves good food and allows people and pups to warm by the fire.
such an unusual place. 
we used to vacation here (when i say vacation i mean throw your dog and clothes in the car & pitch a tent when you get there). wild horses roam free, as do cattle, pigs and other wildlife.
and other goodies waiting at the house upon my return………….
the thought is to make these wonderful fingerless gloves from the new louisa harding accessories book. finding the yarn proved to be incredibly difficult. of the few shops we have in 
part of the problem is that this pattern calls for 3 skeins of different wool. unable to find a shop in the states that had all three and in the colors given in pattern i ended up ordering them in the
here’s to having christmas in february. a wonderful day with great food, drink and family.
cheers!
cracker contents- bad joke, gold paper crown & puzzle
it is more than just driving on the wrong side of the road now..
- illegal to use your cell phone and drive, not a surprise- but what about smoking behind the wheel or drinking (and i don’t mean a pint) when one can’t enjoy a cold bottle of water or soda on your journey what will happen to all of the roadside convenience stations?
and then there is
but in an effort to make these overly intrusive laws palatable they now have come up with the ultimate in driving pleasure- the tom tom navigation system which you can purchase the additional voices (and characteristic personalities) of well known celebrities like hrh the queen, sharon and ozzy osbourne and my personal favorite- john cleese. while i am sure it is illegal to do the ‘silly walk’ and drive at the same time you can listen to ‘something completely different’ and just drive as you should with both hands on the steering wheel.
or not- (different) just mind numbingly brilliant. if only my mini cooper would refer to it’s ownership as a bunch of germans? talk about an identity crisis!
even though he did not write the ‘revocation of independence’ he should have.
he is officially allowed to keep me company on any drive.
we ready ourselves for the big day.
sunday feb 3rd
go pats~ we miss you
loop a fantastic knit shop in
and then there is louisa hardings new book ‘knitting little luxuries’
everything in this book has attention to detail for the new knitter to the experienced and gives you the flexibility of choosing yarns that fit your personality or budget.
my rowan kid classic
‘ruffles’. i added a simple flower knit in kid classic
with a floral accent i made from vintage plas
tic beads.
this is a ritual ms opal goes through each day to get our attention for food. it is the behavioral disorder “bad dog”.
characteristic signs of this disorder are counter jumping, floor scratching and food bowl abuse.
ahh but our little lady was not born with a long attention span….
gram christmas wreath
this year was the year to replace grams wreath. i also decided to try my hand at quilting. my fairly easy project came from amy butler's in stitches book that i have been “eye-ing” (the bad pun will be explained) for a while.
i have always been a fan of marimekko and now at crate and barrel stores you can purchase their fabric. not only can you purchase the fabric but you can now buy a make-your-own fabric wall art kit. i did not go that far- as of yet but i did dip into a selection of multi color cottons which at the time i had bought with the idea that i will
surely find a use for. lucky for me it was not too long before i realized i needed to get my gifts in the post and i poured over my books in search of an idea. in comes the beautiful quilted eye mask; great for a holiday hang over or flight to visit your friend who somehow ended up in texas.
project~
one preschool back pack (which will be the envy of all little preschool mates in the class)
shopping list:
magnetic snap
shoe string?
fabric
lining
d rings or ?
muslin
batting
iron on stabilizer
cord (or ribbon)
for my nephew, who sports his mittens one with a boat and the other with an anchor. i am going to make this without a pattern but i have a good idea of what it will look like. my only real set back is the mechanics of the back pack. it may not make it to him for santa’s delivery but maybe the tooth fairy could help me out….
great finds in this store…
a store which may make you stop and think of how each of us can change the world…
and besides~ what other city in this lonestar state could have a bookstore which carries ‘bush’ toilet paper and still claim to be the largest book store in texas?
a card crafty friend of mine at work came up with this wonderful idea for the grand opening of the new hotel on our property. she took the invitation and carried the theme through to our name badges which we hung on beaded lanyards in the colors of the new hotel. each lanyard was different and made by each of us with the beads she bought.
farmer dad is back. i love the idea that he comes when his garden is in season. my favorites are his pomegranates. we have youthful trees from his best varietals in our yard. we have a few years before they mature to produce but we now have his to enjoy…
tonight during his visit we enjoyed a selection of cheese and apple.
cheese selection to include:
belgium chevagne
isle of mull aged cheddar
doux de montagne
austin hopelessly blue goat's milk cheese
meet “sweetie pie”
and meet “pumpkin”
you cant go wrong with these.
i have to admit i have been thinking of this project for some time now. i love the idea of iron on vinyl. wipe clean and clear~ perfect for a bib. i also like the idea of having made-for-project seam binding. as i am a november baby i had to choose the pumpkin.
as my husband sees it~
but to me it is one big happy closet. i do not think i finish half of the projects i start. this bed was bought in an antique shop many years ago by my father for me. we were on a driving trip and happened to stop in a small town and there it was.
its restoration has been rewarding but for me i have taken a back seat to the project while every visit my father makes, it gets closer to completion.
he is coming for a visit soon and i hope by putting this in writing that i manage to get the bed finished and set up in his bedroom.
if not~ i am sure i have a closet to store it for the next time....
yes the yummy beer hits to shelves of your favorite supermarket. my favorite supermarket is whole foods flagship store in 
even better there just happens to be in the same town the be-all & end-all of fabric stores. now i have to put my christmas thinking cap on.
thank you craftorama. i love my new fabrics.
i have to admit that i miss the chilly evenings that the fall brings with it on the east coast. but still i remind myself that i am lucky to enjoy hot weather almost year around.
i remind myself that with the fall~ soon will come winter and the snow. the larger part of this weekend was spent in the garden preparing for the cooler weather we have here in
most bushes were trimmed back, flowering pants were cut back, the roses were pruned, leaves raked, windows cleaned, and our new yard-mates let them selves be known. a fairly large (huge to me) tarantula- and a young texas rat snake.
yeah~ i clap my hands and say yeah. take a look at the video here.
upon arrival and it was not until 20 minutes later i was forced to admit that jeans and tee were not the attire for 95-100degree outdoor fest.
not twisting my arm i found a dress with my name on it that carried me through the next 7 hours of fest food, beer, arctic monkeys, cyhsy, and arcade fire.
could there be a better way to spend a saturday?
it is nice to have completed a project. it feels good. i am making this top again for fiona- i do like the name fiona. i knit the first pattern for size 6-12 months and will do the same for the next one. it has a lot of roomy adjustability that limits the use of most baby clothes that last only a few short months before they become too small.
to give me a break between doing the same pattern back to back i am working on putting the shawl together. 
a few frustrating starts with this pattern. as i have worked the first 8 rows (after many, many attempts). 
it is starting to show its lace pattern. it is not really what i expected and it could be my substitute in yarn but i am pretty sure i have the patience to get through it. blocking the finished pieces seems like it will be the most difficult part.- but if i get that far i am home free.
i have found my replacement “organic cotton” by blue sky alpaca. this is not my first blue sky alpaca yarn. i have been fortunate to be a part of a county fair in watertown, ma which had raw alpaca yarn, alpacas (babies too), herding dog demonstrations, sheep & alpaca sheering, food booths and plenty of environmentally friendly booths.
most of all, on that day my memory is of baby gavin and his strength to pull through. gavin had his first day of school today- and for him i will take a yarn which reminds me of his happy to see anthony smile-
day not to knit.
working on a baby sweater which for the first time ever- i have run out of yarn based on the patterns requirements, not only is this an inconvenience, it presents a problem that if you cant get the same yarn with the same dye lot- it is a waste of time to continue.
my yarn shop closed today- i work on my new “rowan free gift” which arrived at my door stop last week.
rowan now includes two patterns and the yarn to complete one of them with your yearly subscription.
problem one: yarn provided not yarn suggested for pattern.
yarn provided was cotton rope. not sure who would choose to knit with this yarn- but after 5 attempts to get past row 4 of the pattern. i choose not to continue.
i am not meant to knit with this yarn- i stop and decided to move on and if i want to use the pattern this yarn will not be a part of the equation.
