Brooklynn Kaila Goldstone

This charming little lady joined our family on June 16th. Brooklynn was due on my birthday the 8th of June. She is the daughter of my niece Michelle and her husband Adam. From all I hear mother and baby are doing well. Just wanted to share the pictures with whoever might be out there reading.

Summer Knitting (or Crocheting)

 Update 8/8/13 The picture I had here of some beautifully hand painted yarn is not available because hopefully the lovely yarn sold. However the shop I talk about is still on Etsy with even more handpainted yarns and finished items as well.

In a search for orange to fit a blogging theme this is what I found. To me this Etsy seller jirbydesigns has captured the essence of summer in a color way she calls Fruit Punch. In this color grouping you can get anything from wool to silk to fun novelty yarns like a ladder or eyelash.These colors could take you from summer to fall with a fun wrap made of the ladder yarn to a pair of cozy socks knitted from the wool.
In her own words from her profile in her Etsy shop jirbydesigns explains where her inspiration comes from."I started selling my own line of handpainted yarns in the fall of 2004. I have developed my own colorways based on the nature that surrounds me both in Virginia and coastal North Carolina. I dye my yarns by hand in a small studio at my home. I handpaint the yarns in small quantities using Gaywool Dyes."
For more sunny, wonderful, amusing and very orange themed posts check out this blog for links to others in the Etsy Bloggers Street Team.

Third Time!

This is my third treasury in a short time. I did the roses and pearls theme because my birthday is in June and they are both symbols for the month. Although building treasuries on Etsy really is so much fun I will take a break after this one. I have no idea how I have been lucky enough to stumble on the opportunity so often that I almost feel guilty. I'll step back after this one expires and enjoy the work of others.

I figured out how to get a screen shot of my treasury for the blog. You can find it live right here. It will expire in two days.

While you are there you can look around at the other treasuries in the lists. Curators with much better vision than I have made some absolutely wonderful, funny, beautiful and thought provoking lists. Etsy is certainly a site worth taking your time at. You can discover arts and crafts from the widest range of shops I know of on the web.

Let me know what you think about Etsy, Treasury or anything elso on your mind. I like to know that someone is reading.

Getting Caught Up

After a week in Kansas I am back home. Being away breaks the routines that are part of daily life. Silly things like what am I needing in the way of groceries? What do I need to replace and what else did Jim use up while I was gone?

Part of catching up was doing some hemstitching for Strawberrylane who has a shop on Etsy.

So cute and so useful! Watch for these burp cloths in her shop once she gets the edges crocheted on them.

If you are a crocheter and especially like to do thread crochet you need to know about hemstitching. I have a machine that will put holes in fabric so that it can easily be crocheted. You can see an example of what the machine does in the picture below.


Hemstitching is not just for flannel or baby things. I have used the machine to hemstitch fleece, quilts, tablerunners, pillowcases and more. You can look at the pictues at the top of this blog and see headbands and bandanas that use hemstiched fabric and a crocheted edge. I think it is a charming way to finish the edges of things and could be very nice way to accent collars, sleeves and hems on skirts as well.

One other new thing here are family links on the left. My son has started a blog about his family that is expecting an addition in early October. The other new link is to my daughter's Avon shop. Selling is new to her and she is excited by it. She is spending time learning all about the products available so that she can be helpful and answer any questions you might have. As a proud mother, if you like Avon products, I ask you to please consider following the link and shopping with my daughter.

For today and the rest of the week be safe, be happy, be well and be cozy.