Winners!

I pulled three from the hat! (Drumroll)

christina of phila*craft
alison of in a nutshell
gudrun of shetland trader


I was never good at exclusivity, so Jen at Crafty Ninja and Kyle from the seven year sock will get consolation prizes!

Kindly email me your contact info and let the 365 day countdown begin!
Don't forget to follow the directions in the previous post, for Pay It Forward.

Hey! Pay it Forward!

It has taken me since October to even post about an enticing blog-world goody-out-of-the-goodness-of-your-heart, gifting game; Pay it Forward (or pass-it-on in American). Knitter, spinner, chef, photographer and person owned by the never-a-dull-moment cat Magnus....Jeni of Magnusmog kindly allowed me to Pay-it-Forward waaaaaay back in the fall. Only now am I playing along. But it will be fun, for sure!

Here is the blurb for the PIF.

"I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

Only I'm changing it a bit to allow for time zone differences, I'll give it 3 days and pull the names out of a hat. K?



Be warned! I may take the entire 365 days, it has taken me nearly that long to play.


I was so tardy posting, I've already received my gifts. It is like Christmas in June! Jeni spun the most delicious Wensleydale, in bright rich blue, brown and green. I can't wait to start knitting with them. Soft! Also included was a sweet felted pin, and a tiny little book with chrysanthemum pattern all over. I am over the moon! Such generosity. I aim to please, and I hope to do as well for 3 of you as Jeni did for me.

The Future Cardigan and a Rescue

Leftovers often make the nicest things, be it a tasty meal or a comforting cardigan. I'm not exactly sure if I'll end up liking this combination of odds and ends, but I am having fun in the making of it. Dale of Norway Heilo, is a sturdy old fashioned yarn that says, not surprisingly, "Norway" to me! I'm going with the old familiar feeling of a hand-me-down sweater, but with a little shaping. I love the almost too bright, retro red, love the sensible blue and wish the yellow were a bit less gold, but hey, thats what you get with leftovers.

Now what do you think, should I throw in the green, like I always do, or surprise myself and leave it out?

Below please find a follow up to the adventures of last weekend.

buttered corn

I finished my lovely yellow mittens a couple of weeks ago. I've been planning a little photoshoot with them, to better show off their cabley beauty, but life and work interfered. So I give you the, sans human hands image, which reminds me exactly of corn-on-the cob; so mouthwatering I'd almost like to take a bite.

Pink + White

I'm having a little fun combining my flicker groups: color+color2 and 30 Day Macro Challenge.

This week's colors are pink and white, and  this month every day is close-up day.

All are objects found around the house; Nick's poster, Sophie's lamp and a Kri Kri bowl.

It has me thinking about knitting in pink, though I usually don't like it,

much.

Macro Mango

The 30 DayMacro Challenge is proving to be, well, challenging. But fun I assure you. I still don't "get" how my macro setting works exactly, except it always wants the flash, which I then disable because I hate flash. So what the challenge has done thus far, besides make me long for a proper macro lens.... which will be down the road a piece, is to keep working at it, because there are others in the group who use the same camera as I do, who acomplish what I wish I could. That is what is so great about these challenges, they help you to learn by doing.

Future Road Trip

click here to enlarge

Soon! I fly home to Seattle on April 25. Then a road trip with just my mom. We'll drive to my aunt's ranch in Idaho for a visit. A stay with my aunt is better than any spa could be, she puts us right to work. Fresh air and hard work, lobbing the occasional stone at a rattlesnake. I will return strong, brave and bold.

We're not sure which route we'll take. Probably a big circle. Across Washington to start and back through Oregon. To begin, I'd like to travel in the wrong direction, to the north Cascades, where my great-grandparents used to have a camp, in Silverton. But, it may be too far out of the way. I suppose.

Lazy Day

Just a little show and tell. I started shoving furniture around yesterday. It was cold and rainy and I wanted to read my book by the woodstove. So I switched a couch with the kitchen table and voilà, a cozy reading corner. The table is back nestled against the kitchen island which is it's preferred spot by some family members anyway.

The Cinnamon Rolls may be a little homely looking, I was too impatient to ice them properly, and then too hungry to take any beauty shots. A most satisfying and scrumptious endeavor.

Quiet Saturday

Blissfully alone at home
baking Cinnamon Rolls
an idea from my new
Pen Pal
And Split Pea Soup
an idea from my
husband
It is a rainy, rainy
day
I think I'll knit
and nap.

I Joined: Letter Writers Alliance

A week of joining. What has gotten into me?
Letter Writers Alliance, at 16 Sparrows.
Macro Month is humming along nicely.
There has even been some knitting.
I promise to show you
sometime
soon.

PS:
join the Alliance and we can be pen-pals

Wild Boar Amongst the Bowls

Like the bull in the China Shop? This guy is china too so I think we're OK.

 

10 things

Do you know about 10 things? Sometimes in a topsy-turvy world it is just the ticket. There is a flickr group too (I hope that wasn't a collective groan I heard).

today's 10 things: 1. oatmeal 2. my little tin measuring cup 3. it is sunny 4. my son 5. it is warm today 6. broccoli rabe 7. Jackie the fish 8. fish can hear 9. i will run errands in the warm sun and get out of the office. 10. the sound of the waterfall

Oh Dear

.

I was almost finished. It is still cold enough for mittens. It just wasn't right. See how pretty the yarn is, even all crinkly? Maybe tomorrow I'll have the show-off shot. Better make that "later this week".

Something else, I've joined a Flickr group: 30 Day Macro Challenge, hosted by Orange Flower, a crafter so prolific she makes your head spin. I always like a challenge to get me going, especially in the "in between season", a nice way to say Mud Season. It is never too late to join, so do!

Bad Habit

Another bad habit in the making...crewel embroidery thread tucked in my sweet Marimekko purse. I'm already a knitting yarn junkie, a quick look into a needlework shop and I was smitten.

DMC Laine Tapisserie. It is rumored it will no longer be imported to the USA. Hmmm...at first this seems like a godsend, no addictive habits to form. However, maybe that means I should buy all the remaining stocks? Only a dollar each, only about a hundred colors...therein lies the problem. I shall be pondering this one. One a week?

You may notice my moo-cards tucked behind the yarn, and beneath it, my new copy of Lines & Shapes, both tons of fun.

What I did on Easter

Just a tease! Beautiful color! Saffron? Dandelion? It is called Saturne! And it is that mitten I was longing for, cabled a bit. Wait and see.