Extra Love

My sister has this scarf that she loves and she found a hole in it. It was done on knitting speed sticks. I identified the yarn and even found some on the clearance rack and bought three skeins. I started crocheting it while I was visiting because I only shipped my crochet needles.
I tore it apart and started knitting it when I got home.
I think my son is in love with this scarf because he has pulled it off the needles several times.
We set up a little pop up tent sometimes on the weekends for him and dad to play in. Well wouldn't you know there he was with the tent door zipped shut with this scarf stringing the yarn out everywhere. I hear HONEY you may want to come look at this! Panic has come over me because you just know that tone your spouse gets when you should have been there before he called your name. I look in the tent and my little boy has this yarn all over him and is trying to knit with the needles only the scarf is no longer on the needle.
He looked up with those big brown eyes and said, "hi mom I help" okay how can you be upset at this point? So to my sister when you get your scarf know that it was made with extra love.

Zutter Bind-it-all

I love my zutter! And, now they have come out with a new version 2.0, it's pink and has a wider mouth for punching thicker boards.
The Zutter Bind-it-All is great for scrapbooking. You can easily make your own books in any size you need. With the binder your scrapbooks will be custom made just the way you want them.
What I love most about this item is that it's dual action. It puncheds the chipboard and the card stock but, it also binds the book.
It's easily portable, has a stabalizer and an easy pull handle. It all so has a collection area for the paper bits; just empty it right into the trash.
The only points I find I don't like with the Zuter Bind-it-All is that it's pink (I'm not a pink person) and that the collection area is small and must be emptied offten.

wow

So the holidays are gone and like everyone who crafts we were just swamped. I of course extended my holiday craft making into making gifts for going to meet my Sister and her family.
I knew before the holidays that I was getting to do this but didn't realize that I would have come up with so many projects. So much so that some of the projects got packed in a box and shipped so I can finish them when I am out there.
We have yet to meet but we chat and laugh a lot so I can only imagine what my vacation will be like. I will keep everyone posted on how things go.
Thank you to everyone for the wonderful support.

A beautiful thing 2

Wow how time flies!

I have gotten the privilege to meet an exceptionally wonderful person! It really is right up there with birth and marriage. With hopes of wonderful and great things my daughter and I got on a plane to go meet my sister. There was more involved then just me going to meet her, I have now included my daughter in this. After the fact we laughed but her husband was reserved because these two strangers were coming to stay in his home. My husband was concerned because he was shipping not only me but his daughter to this strange place. Me I didn't care I was going to be meeting my sister. The sister that I have held my breathe to meet.

It was above and beyond a shadow of a doubt one of the most indescribable events in my life. I will tell the story as it unfolded and hope you enjoy.

This weird calm was with me at all times until the plane touched down. We were there we were in Texas. Ohhhh my I am here get me off this plane I am on a mission as the tears streamed down my eyes because something I had waited half my life for was about to happen.

There they were with their noses pressed against the glass watching air planes taxi in and out. I quickly ran up behind them and said boo. (Not the way I pictured it going but just the same there we were) They all turned around with these great smiles on their faces. Believe it or not we didn't shed a tear it was as though we were visiting again and not for the first time. We fit right in. Texas does not look like Colorado in the winter time there was green everywhere. The conversation just flowed. Hey Aunt D guess where we are going for dinner tonight. Hey Aunt D! Those truly are some very awesome and dear words to me. So to home we went. The dogs welcomed us and we were shown our wonderful space that we would be spending three nights in. I shipped out a large box with many items in it. We opened them and handed out gifts and shared some photos. My brother in-law came home and like a goober I held out my hand to shake his and was embraced!!

We went to the melting pot for dinner. It was great to sit at a table and see our kids laughing and talking as though they too have know each other all of their lives. We told the waiter our wonderful story and he took our picture to mark the occasion.

I in this short weekend got to see my niece cheer and my nephew play baseball. It was a true gift to be able to see them both doing something they like.

I got to see my sister be a wonderful Mom. My brother in-law be a wonderful Dad.

I even got to meet the neighbors and enjoy dinner that the kids made.

I got to come home with the ability to blame someone else for the way I am. Now anytime my husband says anything about me being an animal lover I just look at him and say it is genetic.

I also use the excuse of well I was just following my older and wiser sister. My daughter and I got our ears pierced to mark the occasion and I told my husband well my sister did it.

I sit here with tears in my eyes and a heart full of joy being able to write this. I love you Sister!

After Christmas Sale

Hello! We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.

We will be having a sale on all our scrubbies. 50% OFF until Jan 2, 2009
All notebook and vintage listings are also 50% OFF

knitting

I love to knit. I know how to English and Continental knit. Crocheting help me control the tension on my yarn which in turn helped me loosen my knitting. I was always frustrated and spent a lot of time trying to cram the needle into the hole to knit. That is the biggest advice I would give someone who is learning to knit.
I love to knit hats and slippers and blankets.
I use circular needles because I sit in a big comfy chair and I find that I am always fighting the standard needles. I also noticed that if I am knitting a blanket the weight hangs on the needles and is hard on my wrists. You can use circular needles the same as standard ones.
It wasn't until about a year or so ago that I actually used double pointed needles and found them to be very helpful in doing a cuff on a sweater or something that I had finished.
knitting and crocheting are similar in the sense that you hold your work but with knitting it is already on the needle.
I practiced correcting my work a lot so that I got comfortable with it when I did make a mistake.
Also when you turn your work be careful not to add stitches.

to knit or crochet

This is going to be a two part post. I am often asked if someone should crochet or knit. For me both serve a pupose and I enjoy each for different reasons. I think that a person should learn to crochet first. It is easier to tear it down to you mistake and start again. I learned to knit first but would have rather learned to crochet so I always teach people to crochet first. I believe that if a person can learn to control their yarn tension while crocheting it is easier to knit. I love to crochet small projects on the go or in the summer and large afghans in the winter. I am fairly fast at both but find that my mind works better with creating crocheted items. I also believe that crocheting gives you the concept of even and what will work and won't. Why you add here and why you don't have to there. Most knitted items can be duplicated into crochet. I also like to teach crochet first because it gives a person a chance to be comfortable with the twisting of the needle in and out of the hole. Learning to turn the piece you are making so it does come out even and not a triangle can be a challenge for learners too.