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.

Thinking About Quilts

I went looking at quilts on Etsy this afternoon. I found a quilt maker that made me go "WOW". That is the reaction I want when deciding to feature a seller here on the blog. I like to include some of their writing as well usually from their profile on the site as I did here.

In her own words-
I'm an avid quilter and seamstress who finds great enjoyment in the creative process. Many of my works have won local awards, and I take pride in doing quality work. I am proud to announce that one of my quilts has just been accepted for a National Show - my original quilt "Memories of the Titanic" will be hung in the Denver National Quilt Festival show in May!

My workroom is full and in order to make room for more ideas and more material I need to sell some of my finished products. They are all top quality quilts and accessories handmade by me alone in my smoke free studio.

I also enjoy writing, check out my blog at: http://pamelaquilts.blogspot.com/




If you like what you see here in the pictures from her shop take some time to check out even more that she has available. Just click on the link below the pictures.

Mother's Day

Jim and I spent a quiet Mother's Day at home. We started off with some of his great French Toast for breakfast. He makes it with Hawaiian bread and it is soooooo Yummy. I got phone calls and text messages from the kids in Utah. I was nice to chat with everyone for awhile.

We had rented movies at Blockbuster the night before and watched movies all day and evening. Movies are something we don't do very ofter so it was a real treat. The first one we watched was Blood Diamond. I really enjoyed it. It sure makes you consider where things come from. Mining has always seemed like such hard and dangerous work even without the problems of civil war.

To lighten the mood the next one was The Devil Wears Prada. I like Meryl Streep in any movie she has done that I have seen and this was no exception. Of course everyone ends on their way to happily ever after but getting there the story was cute.

Last we watched Flags of Our Fathers. What kept running through my mind was how politics never change. I can see the current government ignoring the details to just get good PR just like in the movie. I also kept hearing the Johnny Cash song about Ira Hayes in my head through the whole thing. I am so thankful (forgive my selfishness) that in 17 years of being a military wife I didn't have to send my husband to war. The day in and day out worry and anguish would be so hard to bear.

Enough deep stuff. I hope all mothers had a restful and wonderful day.

New Look

I wandered around the backyard this afternoon playing with the camera. I took shots of birds, flowers and trees. Then when I was going through them I decided to change my banner and avatar. I wanted something brighter for summertime. I am pleased with the way they turned out. You can see them here on the blog and in my shop on etsy. If you are in the mood let me know what you think.

This handsome young man is my grandson. He is turning 4 years old today. He has a great smile but I like this picture of one of his more serious moments.

Happy Birthday Hunter!