Okay, Another Video

GO  HERE  TO  VIEW  THE  VIDEO

Thank you Luciana for such a sweet video (that I’ve watched over and over again).

p.s.  I’ve been a very, very bad blogger.  I promise I’ll be better this fall . . .

Shave and a haircut . . .

As the summer has gotten hotter and hotter, poor Louis has been panting and drooling with his double coat of fur.  Bathing him and using the Furminator has helped, but the poor fellow has just got such a dense coat.  Great in the winter, not so good in the summer.   So, Mr. Louis got a summer buzz cut and he is one happy and cute dude.  He head looks too big for his body now, but that just makes him look very puppy like  and he’s been tearing through the house with a look of glee on his face.

Ignoring the fact that Louis is sitting in the middle of my hostas, he’s just the apple of my eye.

The Best of Sparky Kibble Dancing

Oh, my, this is so funny . . .

GO  HERE (YOUTUBE) TO  WATCH!!

Oh, to have the joy of kibble (or really anything) that this little Pembroke Corgi has.  I could just watch this over and over.

It’s May!

Green grass, flowers, bees, sunshine galore! Finally, we’ve made it out of all the cold and snow! I’ve been spending more time outdoors and less time inside, so my knitting and crocheting are waiting patiently for me to return to them.

In the meantime, a sweet dove has decided to make her nest in one of the planters just outside my backdoor and I’ve been watching she and her newborn babies with great fascination, though I won’t be able to plant flowers in that planter for a bit.  The babies aren’t too cute yet as their feathers are just now beginning to come in.  Just last week there were two eggs and now the chicks are so big they barely fit under their mom.

I’ve also been playing around with embroidery again. I taught myself how to embroider when I was in the 7th grade and I revisit it now and again. I drew this bird and though it might be fun to reinterrupt it in floss on linen.  Hmmm, I think there’s a theme here . .

Last but not least, here’s gratuitous picture of Louis sitting not in my hostas, but on my hosta!

Spring Yarn School 2010

Yarn School was April 22-25 and as always, it was fabulous. Nikol consistantly provides an amazing forum for learning, inspiration, laughter and rejuvination. The food Nikol makes for us is delicious (I still think she should make a Yarn School cookbook) and there’s alway plenty of coffee available.

This spring, probably around half of the participants were repeats and the friendships that had been made in past sessions were immediately rekindled. Many of those repeaters brought friends with them as well, so the quiet politeness that usually happens on Thursday night was replaced with raucous laughter.Adrian and Jennifer are knowledgeable and patient teachers — their spinning talents stun and inspire me. I have to say that I’ve always been equally inspired by my fellow attendees. Yarn School welcomes both the absolute newbie and the most advanced spinner.

Adrian’s dyeing skills are almost beyond description. She knows what the possiblities Jacquard dyes can provide PLUS she has a wonderful color sense — bundle that all up in one funny and talented person and you come up with stunning fiber and yarn.

This was my sixth time attending Yarn School — I’ve got four times as an attendee and twice and a Yarn Zombie/helper — and I still come away with the same rejuvination and excitement as I did after the first Yarn School I attended. Nikol, thank you for making all this happen.

For more pictures go HERE.

Treasures from “The Potholder Swap 2010!”

I feel like I’ve been stalking my mailman because I’m been SO excited to get my potholders from the Swap and last night they showed up on my doorstep!!

I could hardly wait to get inside the house to open up my precious and long awaited package and actually let out a little squeal as they fell out.  Here are the lovely crochet artists that made these beautiful potholders:  The Pansy:  Susann;  Red, White & Blue:  Affiknitty;  Blue & Brown Flower:  MaisyDay;  Hexagons:  HelloYarn;  Pink & Grey:  Buhnuh.  I feel liked I won the grand prize in this Swap!

So, Adrian, Maryse, Maritza, Stacie & Cheryl gathered last Saturday and they sorted through the 88 packages of potholders that literally came from all over the US and even some from Europe.  Let’s do some math — 88 packages + 5 sets from the organizers = 93 participants x 5 potholders per participant = 465 potholders!!  Wowzer!  There are pictures in the Potholder Swap 2010 Flickr group that show all the potholders in stacks covering the floors and tables in Adrian’s home, in fact go to the Potholder Swap 2010 Flickr group and follow the progress of the potholders being crocheted, the sorting process and then see the collections that each person received in return.  If you’re on Ravelry, go to the Potholder Swap 2010! thread and follow everyones thoughts and progress.

I  LUV  MY  POTHOLDERS  !!!!

p.s.  Maryse has a great play by play of sorting the potholders on her blog bag’n’trash!

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

Yesterday was the first day of spring and we got 9 inches of snow!! Absolutely crazy! Today the snow is beginning to melt, but it’s still slushy and cold out side so I’ve spent the day inside spinning some of the 12 ounces of “Sea Dreams” Blueface Leicester (dyed by Hello Yarn) from my stash . . .

. . . and taking pictures of the dogs. My kind of day.

Lampwork Bead Stitch Markers

Several years ago I learned how to make lampwork beads and discovered how addictive it can be. There’s something about taking a cylinder of glass sticking it in a blazing hot flame, melting it onto a metal rod that’s absolutely hypnotizing. The next step is deciding what to do with these little gems, so last night I made them into bead markers that are going out as thank you gifts to the Fab Four organizers of the Potholder Swap 2010!

They sort of look like gobstoppers from Willy Wonka!

Finished!! Potholder Swap 2010!

Finished!!  My potholders for the Potholder Swap 2010! are finally done, crocheted, ends woven in, wet blocked, and pictures taken, they’re ready to be packed up and mailed of to Massachusetts to be sorted and sent to their destinations around the country, or world.  Last year of the five potholders I received, two were from Europe!  I’ve been following the progress of the participates on both the Flickr group and the Ravelry group and have been impressed by all the patterns chosen and the color choices everyone has been making.  The Swap has also been a wonderful way for those that are new to crocheting.  I learned when I was in the 6th grade and made a matching lime green vest and tam (I wish I could find them and post a picture of them because they’re just day-glow bright), but I crochet only occasionally — knitting is my main addiction.  These round little projects have been so much fun to make and I believe that I’m going to have to make a couple of these colorways for myself.

Just as with knitting, the crochet potholders didn’t feel completely done until they were wet blocked.  I’m a firm believer in wet blocking — totally immersing the knit or crocheted fabric in water until it is thoroughly saturated, gently squeezing out any excess water, then laying it flat to dry, pinning if necessary to shape it correctly.  The picot edging had a tendency to curl up and the loop at the top wanted to twist a bit, so every picot, plus the loop was pinned in place while the potholder was wet.  Because it’s been raining here for days, I set up two fans to help with the drying (you can see the black fan in the upper right corner).  To me, spraying my crocheting or knitting with water only slightly affects the outer fibers and blocking with a steam iron only flattens the fibers like a pancake with no loft to the fibers.  Wet blocking gives a more finished look — things look “hand-made” not “home-made” — there’s an enormous difference.

So here’s the lowdown — I used the pattern called “Snail Shell” on page 158 from the book “Crochet Stitch Motifs” .  I used a size C crochet hook and Tahki Cotton Classic yarn.  Since I had a lot of crochet to do and was going to be using a fairly small hook, I decided to try Clover’s Soft Touch crochet hooks and am totally sold on them.  The body of the hook is plastic with an added rubbery cushion where your thumb rest, which is great because I have a tendency to clench my hook like a fiend!  FYI — I found mine on E-bay as a set of six for around $25, including shipping.

I’ll post the potholders I receive in return as soon as I get them!  I can’t wait!!!

I’ve got yarn . . .

So I ordered 27 skeins of Tahki Cotton Classic yarn from WEBS this week and this tiny box arrived on my doorstep. There’s absolutely no way ALL my yarn could be in there, it must be half the order . . .

but low and behold, all my yarn is crammed in that box — ALL of it!!

Oh, life is good with LOTS of choices! The turquoise colors (on the right) are much greener in color, but you can still get the idea of the range of colors I’ve got to work with. I’m still looking for my pattern, though I think I’m getting closer. My plan is to start crocheting this weekend.