The Post Christmas Sniffles

Well, I finally got it. The dreaded cold that has been going around at work that I have been trying oh so hard to not be subjected to. I guess it was inevitable working in a hospital and all. So, all jacked up on Tylenol Cold Daytime, I managed to get the house in order for a visit from my sister, brother-in-law, and niece and finished up some last minute Christmas projects for those I have not celebrated with yet. After that, I spent most of the day surfing the net for Christmas decorating ideas for next year and also for crafty blogs that I have not read yet. So, this is the blog roll for today:

happylovesrosie (it may take it a minute to load)

greenkitchen

artsycraftybabe

pyrexlove (I am freaking out over this blog!! I saw a TON of this Pyrex at an antique store with my mother last weekend.)

posy (I want to LIVE in her house!)

lenacorwin

I also pillaged my book self for crafty books and happened across Vintage Style by Cath Kidston. I completely forgot that I had this book! It is great. I think my grandmother may have given it to me years ago. It has given me so many new and fresh ideas.

Books I can't wait to purchase..some of which I just discovered today:

Anna Maria Horner-Seams To Me

Jane Brocket-The Gentle Art of Domesticity

Alicia Paulson-Stitched In Time

Lena Corwin-Printing By Hand

Deborah Needleman-Domino The Book Of Decorating

Sometimes it is nice to be a bit under the weather. It gives me an excuse to be lazy and lay about all day. I often times find myself buzzing around going 90 miles a minute. Even though my nose is stuffy, my eyes are watery, and my head is pounding....I guess it could be worse and really it is not so bad.


Oh, I almost forgot, here are some of the Christmas goodies I made that I was not able to post until after Christmas:

Oil Cloth placemats for my mother:

Recipe card holders with my favorite recipes for my Aunt. It was her hostess gift since we spent Christmas Eve at her house.

Oh, and during the Christmas crafting, I got hungry. I owe my brother-in-law more of his favorite candy...I ate it in the midst of gift wrapping. Since he won't be arriving until tomorrow evening, I think that gives me plenty of time to stock up. Oh was it tasty! I now know why it is his favorite.

Since I have been crafting so much, I guess I felt like I could not stop. So, after Christmas day festivities with my parents, I came home and recovered the kitchen table chairs with left some of the oil cloth I had left over. I love it!

Before:








After:

This Christmas was very special indeed. Everyone was so generous, I was just not expecting that for some reason. So much thought and effort was put into everything.

Cheers!

Yes, I Am Still Talking About Spinning

So I tried out spinning 2 ply. I think that currently I am experiencing the first time spinner issue, spinning too tight. When you spin too tight, it gets all curly. But, this is where the magnificence of washing your skein and hanging it to dry with a weight comes in to play so, we will see how it goes.

My curly little skein is all nice and cozy in it's bath.

This is a lovely magazine about spinning and much more. One of the things my mom picked up for me in Santa Fe (I do keep going on an on about Santa Fe too don't I?).

It is already fairly worn, I think I have read it maybe 5 times already!

I really would like to learn how to knit socks. I have wanted to learn this for a looooonnnnggg time too so, I think it is about time that I do. The other night I was surfing around for new yarn shops in my area and found this cute little shop. I checked out their schedule of classes and sure enough, they offer a sock class! It is a 2 part class. There is one that starts toward the end of August so, I think I am going to sign up for it. I can't wait.

When I was looking through the Spin-Off magazine I came across an article:

It is such a neat article to me because she starts with a patternfor spinning your yarn and then goes into the pattern for knitting the socks. If I can figure out this pattern I may not need to go to the class but, I think I will anyway just for the fun of it.

I also have been searching for a knitting/spinning group in my area. I came across the Fiber Therapy group. It is group that is in the historic area of a little town close to me. This could be lots of fun so I may go check it out in a few weeks. They meet at a local coffee shop on Wednesday evenings. A while ago some friends and I tried to start a knitting circle but it soon fizzled out due to schedule conflicts and whatnot so, I think I will give this a whirl. During my online research, Fiber Therapy brought me to a few interesting blogs. I think I will continue to stop by to read up on what they have been up to. The first, is the lady that put together the Fiber Therapy group. The second, is a link from the blog list of the first one I mentioned. I am anxiously awaiting some roving to arrive in the mail that I purchased over here. I think my package may arrive. Probably would have arrived today but, there is no post on Sunday. Some of the roving I purchased is not dyed so I will soon try out hand dying my own wool! I can't wait!

Cheers!