Happy Birthday to Me!

Lovely daughter started my day with homemade pancakes, berry syrup and orange juice. Dear boy did the dishes and helped finish doing the laundry.
My darling husband took me to the yarn store .  I was pleased and picked up these lovelies less than five minutes after entering the store.

I was slowly but surely herded towards the back of the store where this was waiting!

I was totally gobsmacked! I had to ask the wonderful ladies in the store what I should start spinning with.  Two ounces (each) of basic wool in four different colors got added to the pile.

And then it was off to the pub for a pint or two, chips with beer cheese and sticky toffee pudding to help me recuperate from my blissful shock.
Fantastically awesome does not even begin to cover it! :-D

An Interesting Easter

We had lovely cinnamon rolls that were caramel coated.

There was the obligatory candy, which is still pretty much sitting where I put it Sunday morning, minus only a few pieces.

This was all well and good, except I forgot to take pictures of the roast leg of lamb and herbed cheddar mashed potatoes. Clever me.
There was something rather unexpected though...the evening hail storm!

Golf ball sized hunks of ice falling from the sky, bashing against windows and setting off car alarms. More than a few families in the neighborhood stepped outside to enjoy the storm, with at least one person from every one of those households running out into the downpour to pick up a piece of the hail, with hunched shoulders and occasional "ouches" to be heard.   I'm still not sure why they did it, but it was quite entertaining!

Happy Spring!

Happy birthday Mom!

Yay for green growing things!

Let the good new things continue!

Productively un-focused

The last couple of weeks I have had a difficult time concentrating on anything for more than five minutes.  This is not good.  It is particularly not good if you have multiple things that need finishing.
For me, the resultant mess looks something like this:

I've cut out a RenFaire shirts for Boy and Girl as well as a new Faire skirt for Girl, Boy will be wearing one of his father's old kilts this year.  I also put a new front panel in an old RenFaire skirt of mine that's been unworn for the better part of a decade.  While rummaging through the fabric stash I came across some lovely pale sage tencel...so I cut myself out a skirt since I was at it.  I knit and felted a new purse, it needs a wee bit more felting.  Decided a new hair clip was in order, because brass and peacock feathers are awesome, out came the glue and findings.  Just had to cast on this top immediately upon finding it, especially with perfect yarn to make two of them just sitting in the stash, where it had been lingering for years. The happy inducing purple piece is a shawl whose color and extra beaded sparkle were inspired by the Fae Winter Court out of the last Dresden novel but the pattern is one inspired by Game of Thrones (Ravelry link).  I finished knitting a hat for a friend.  It is still in need of one fabulous button.  Progress was also made on hero themed fingerless mitts for the kids, Wonder Woman for Girl, War Machine for Boy, their choices, with Green Lantern and The Avengers pairs waiting in the wings.
It seems to have been a flurry of activity. And yet...nothing is actually done.

A Wee Bit Distracted

With things having been a bit more frantic than usual the last couple of weeks, I have been attempting to find simple, happy distractions.  While out shopping for the rather mundane combination of soap and hair dye, these lovelies caught my eye!

I met the age requirement on the package (3+) and I believe that drawing on yourself (or someone else) is fun! They had to come home with me.
One of the other distractions was actually inspired by a friend who suggested a particular lip gloss that changes color with your chemistry  which of course I immediately wanted to try.  This of course led to wandering their site and remembering how well their products had worked in previous years, and you know, it's been ages since I replaced my makeup basics and wouldn't it be nice if I got the foundation that didn't immediately migrate to the wrinkles?

Definitely a good idea! The foundation and powder stay put without looking fake.  The mascara doesn't flake everywhere and make my eyes itchy.  It's been a pleasant surprise to buy face paint that has worked for me!  I bought the pink lip gloss, because the natural wasn't available locally (I plan on getting a tube soon).  The gloss isn't overly sticky, doesn't have that weird smell/taste so many glosses tend to, and (on me) turned a vibrant shade of rose pink that was surprisingly flattering.  When I had my daughter try it, the color was a deeper, more muted rose.  For some reason she was unsurprised that the gloss was "louder" on me.  Think she is trying to tell me something? :-D

Just one...to take the edge off

I had an argument with a sweater yesterday.  Okay, maybe not an actual argument, more like the realization that I dropped a stitch marker several inches previously and was now missing a quarter of the increases I was supposed to have made so the sweater will actually be wearable.  With a sigh of pain and frustration, the sweater was carefully put back into a project bag and set aside to be slowly and methodically ripped back at a later time.  I had walked upstairs to find my removable stitch markers (which I still can't find), only to have a flash of color flecked with sparkle catch my eye.
Which is why I now have my umpteenth shawl on the needles.

The pattern is Out of Gas by Zhora Designs.  It's been sitting and waiting for me, particularly since I found and purchased the perfect yarn for it at Nerd Girl Yarns
I will admit to having more than a couple skeins from her shop with various projects in mind.
There is something very satisfying about casting on a shawl.  They tend to start small, so you feel like you are making progress quickly. A simple design with a pretty edging lets you feel capable but not frustrated. The finished piece can be draped round neck and shoulders to artfully display beautiful yarn, lovely pattern and knitting skill. (At least I'm pretty sure that's the idea with a finished shawl, I've got six in progress within easy reach, we won't discuss how many are upstairs waiting to be picked up again.)  They are definitely one of my favorite types of projects.
I'll pick the sweater back up to fix it...in a day or two. :-D

Time for Spring Planting

At least around here it's time for the early planting.  There's no frost predicted for the foreseeable future, the weather is comfortably warm during the day, if a bit windy.  So this weekend, a run was made to a couple of garden shops to acquire seeds, dirt, a few more pots and maybe a few seedlings that absolutely insisted on being planted right away, mostly herbs. How could I say no to chocolate mint?  A few strawberry plants may have fallen into the cart as well.

Salad greens, jalapenos, and cucumbers all got started directly in pots, left outside to mostly fend for themselves.  Peas, beans, sweet peppers(purple and chocolate) and tomatoes(Black Krim and Purple Cherokee) are sprouting inside on windowsills in recycled egg cartons.  Marigolds, poppies and carnations have been planted in their (naked looking) pots on either side of the front door.
I am determined to make the most of what seems to be (after a year of observation) a ten month growing season. 
The best part so far is the looks I get from the neighbors, whether for the early planting or the way I am dressed is still uncertain. ;-)

My new glasses get an airing

Since we went out on Friday night, almost unheard of anymore, I decided to wear the new glasses that had come in that afternoon. I can honestly say I was distinctive in a pub full of people.  Sadly, the food at this particular pub was not very good, paired with crowded, too loud (good only if you wanted to sit by yourself and watch the game they had on the multiple televisions) and the beer was about average.  Husband and I agreed after a couple of hours or so, we were ready to head home.
I love my new glasses, so I wore them out again to do the grocery shopping later on in the weekend.  You would think no one had ever seen someone wearing sparkly cat's eye glasses before! ;-)

In Anticipation of Spring

Since I've been told that the few weeks of cold weather we have had around here counts as "winter" I figured it an ideal time to think about my spring/summer wardrobe (since summer is most of the year around here).
My favorite way to change things up is nail polish.  I love the flash of contrast against whatever I am wearing. As my wardrobe tends towards blues, greens, black and grays, I tend to favor a true red nail, a bit conventional but rarely boring. 
I began my search for one nude and one bright color for my nails at one of my favored lip and nail paint sites, Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics. Not just an entertaining name, their colors are really outstanding and the products high quality.  Scrolling through their nail lacquer colors, my eyes lit upon a shade called Strumpet. The vibrant plum-red with the name that makes me grin got put on the shopping list!  The lighter color will probably be looked for in person as I am finding it hard to judge the colors online.
As a distraction from hunting down perfect nail colors, I get to play dress up and go to a bit of a shindig this weekend!  I hurriedly knit up an Of Creatures hat this week to wear to the get together, while really hoping my new cat eye glasses get here in time. I just have to remember to get Husband to take pictures before we head out this time, after is rarely very flattering. ;-)

Is rustic high maintenance a thing?

If it is, what is it actually called?  Do we have to use the phrase, "high maintenance"?  Is there another way to describe a love of high end in our handmade?
Some way to announce a preference for better quality components for the things we make (whatever the project may be) that does not involve the word "snob"?
Calling someone "particular" is only slightly better, certainly more polite, though most often used currently to apply to people who fuss over seemingly random details of no apparent consequence,(think diva dressing room requirements).
I enjoy making nice things.  I like to use the best quality I can get my hands on to make those things. I would like a title/description/word for that tendency that doesn't end up sounding like an insult when spoken in modern English.

Happy New Year!

The adorable bear pattern that makes me giggle every time I look at him was found at Urban Threads, one of my favorite places to get embroidery patterns.
I wanted to share him so hopefully you could start the year with a giggle too!