Friday, July 31, 2009

Are you ready?

Sign-ups start tomorrow for Son of Dish Rag Tag! I'll be signing up again this year, it was lots of fun last year. :)
And head over to Kata's blog & say hi & check out the awesome post that she did for me! Aren't friends great?! Thanks again Kata, you're so sweet. :)
Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Whiskers On Wednesday & YARN!

Yay! Jazzy & I made it for WoW this week.

This is Miss Jasmine's new napping spot. I have one of these rugs at the front door & one at the back door, she doesn't seem to prefer one over the other as long as one of them is free for a nap during the day. And another evening nap before bedtime/playtime. LOL





And here is a photo of my finished Mermaid yarn! My first Navajo plied yarn. Thanks to Robin & her excellent demonstration last fall. Can you believe that I remembered it that long without doing it? ha ha

I ended up with 280 yards of approximately sport weight yarn. Woohoo! Now, what to do with all this 100% wool yarn that I'm creating.... I mean, I do live in the land of HOT down here. I guess there will be some cooler climate friends getting some gifts. :)It started as this....

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Monday, July 27, 2009

Arriving soon!

I finally got a photo of the baby afghan that I'm working on for my bosses. Their baby is due sometime around Aug 15th. Once I get the blue strip finished, I'll be 50% done. I REALLY need to get moving on this one so it's ready in time. It is a quick to crochet piece, I just need to quit getting sidetracked by socks & dusters & spinning. :)

This is the Baby Brights afghan, published in the More Herrschner's Blue Ribbon Afghans book. Great afghan pattern book, it includes 2 of my own designs. LOL

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Moving right along

Wow, I have a lot to share this weekend! I didn't realize how much I haven't blogged about lately.

First just let me say that today is mine & the hubby's 13th anniversary! We had dinner at the Olive Garden, wonderful like always. I couldn't imagine my life without you, good times or bad you're always there. And I love you!

Now on to the knitting/spinning....

I finally finished one of my flip flop socks!! I had to put these on hold due to the thumb injury a while back. Now I just need to cast on for the second one. I'll be ready for the cooler weather when it gets here in a few months. These are the Ulterior Motive Pedicure Socks. I'm knitting them in Panda Cotton, which is a bit splitty when knitting but makes a really nice finished sock. I love the pattern, it's quick & easy & looks way more complicated than it really is. I made the top a little shorter & the foot part a little longer. I wanted it to cover most of my foot except for the toes so I can wear my flip flops with them....

And I finished spinning my Mermaid BFL roving that I got from Kathy's etsy shop a while ago. This was my first attempt at Navajo plying. It came out really pretty if I do say so myself! LOL You'll have to wait on a photo of the finished yarn, it's had a bath & is hanging to dry at the moment. Here is a photo of the single still on the bobbin before plying.

After finishing up my Mermaid BFL, I was digging through my fiber stash for what I was gonna spin next & discovered quite a few goodies that I've never shared with you. So out I went with the fiber & camera....

More lovely BFL roving from Kathy's shop.

Some superwash wool that I dyed up myself. :) Some gorgeous Bamboo fiber from Chimera.

And some lovely merino & correidale fibers from the Lakehouse Loft.


And so I leave you with a photo of my Pink Duster, of course I had to have one that was pretty. LOLHope everyone had a great weekend!

Monday, July 20, 2009

Ravelry Downloads

I now have free Ravelry downloads for my patterns! How cool is that?!

So far I only have 2 free patterns, check them out. And you have to be a member of Ravelry to see them or download them, but hey, who isn't a member of Ravelry? LOL

Water Bottle Koozie

Download Here

Felted Small Project Bag


Download Here

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Handcrafted with love

It's so nice when your significant other just "gets you". And isn't it sweet when they do something or make something that only you can love. Meaning: it has no value to them other than seeing your happiness. :)

Would you just look at the beautiful lazy kate that my hubby made for me!! It will hold all of my bobbins, one is missing cause it's on my spinning wheel. The only thing I'm gonna add to this is a leather strap on top for carrying. He is working out the best way to add tension to my bobbins for plying. And maybe one day I'll get creative & put some kind of wood burning decoration on there. He is already making plans on a new & improved version, but I love this one & will be perfectly content with it.

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Finished Project!

See, I do other stuff besides play with clay! I saw one of these when I was surfing around ArtFire the other night, Kathy found the pattern on Ravelry & we proceeded to whip out a couple of these dusters. And I believe if Chan can dig up any leftover novelty yarn she was gonna join in too.
It's super fuzzy, I think I will try another one & not do so many fuzzy chains.

It was a fun & quick project. Too bad the actual dusting with it won't be as much fun. LOL

You need to use a machine washable novelty yarn so you can throw it in the wash when you're done dusting, or if it sits around long enough that it collects dust on it's own. ha ha

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Italian Sausage & Rice

Here is a simple recipe that I kind of threw together myself. I think I saw something similar somewhere & I thought, hey that would be better if you used this & added this.... It's quick, tasty, & makes quite a bit. Since there is just the two of us at home now, it leaves us plenty leftover to freeze for later super quick meals.

Italian Sausage & Rice

1/2 Italian Sausage, sliced (freeze the other half for the next time you want to make this)
1/2 large bell pepper, diced
1 medium onion, sliced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 cans low-sodium chicken broth
1 can Italian diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon minced garlic (or to taste)
1 cup instant white rice
1 cup instant brown rice
Saute the onion, celery, bell pepper & garlic with either a little butter or olive oil, until veggies are tender. Add your sausage, tomatoes & chicken broth & bring to a boil. Once boiling add in your rice, cut the heat down to simmer, cover & cook for about 10-15 minutes. Stirring occasionally. You'll know when it's done, it'll thicken up.
That's it! Enjoy!

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

The real Diva Kitty - WOW

Here is the real Diva Kitty in this household. Princess turned hunter. LOL

Our windows are perfect for Miss Jazzy to watch the birds & Mr. Squirrel!

She can watch him from the second window without being discovered & scaring him away. Although she does seem to enjoy pouncing in the window where he is at & making him run off from time to time. LOL

Don't forget to check out the other kittys over at Whiskers on Wednesday!

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Diva Kitty!

LOL, bet you thought I was talking about Princess Jasmine. While "Diva" fits her to a T, I'm talking about this adorable Diva Kitty Sock-It Bag that I got from Kathy. Check out her shop, she makes the greatest Sock-It Bags, beautiful yarn & now she even has gorgeous hand-dyed spinning fiber!

Along with the most adorable project bag she also sent along a sample spinning batt with pretty aqua/yellow fiber, sparkles & bits of denim. A note pad, a sweet card & some euclann wash.And I now have Mini Sweet Peas in my store. For anyone who would like a smaller version of my regular Sweet Peas.
Hope everyone had a great July 4th weekend!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Yarndemon Artisan Studio ArtFire Buy & Sell Handmade


Yarndemon Artisan Studio ArtFire Buy & Sell Handmade

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Look! I opened an Art Fire shop. Same as the Etsy shop, just trying something new. :)

Happy Birthday Chan!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHAN!

I hope you have a wonderful day today!!
Sissy & Gretchie are ready for the party! They were kind enough to supply me a photo. :)

Princess Jasmine even joined in the fun, as you can see she is thrilled! LOL

And a Happy Happy from me too! Sorry I'm such a slacker & didn't get your card there on time! Love ya girl!!!

Everyone head over & wish Chan a Happy Birthday!