Saturday, June 30, 2007

African Cichlids

DH's African Cichlid Collection

Monday, June 25, 2007

Ocean State Blogger Meetup





What do knit bloggers love to do? Well that’s easily answered: peruse yarn shops in search of luscious yarns and meet with fellow bloggers and non- bloggers alike. That is what we did at Sakonnet Purls on a lovely Saturday afternoon in June.



There was lots of yarn by the usual manufacturers. What caught my eye was the sumptuous display of Rowan’s Kid Silk Haze in every color. Claudia’s Handpaint Yarn was winking at me as was Jitterbug sock yarn. Kristen managed to pick up some wonderful turquoise alpaca wool to make a Tasha Tudor Shawl. Carol purchased the bargain of the day: 4 skeins of Noro Kureyon in a wonderful brown colorway. She managed to also do some yarn enabling. Those who know Carol well are aware of her strengths in this endeavor. Her influence set my project wheels in motion causing me to buy 2 skeins of bargain Noro in a black, gray and fuschia colorway. Kimberly purchased some luscious wool silk called Rapture by Reynolds.

Once we had our fill of yarn and needle shopping we headed to the back room to knit and chat. What I love most about meeting with other knitters is seeing their projects. Erica was knitting Pomatomus socks, a free sock Pattern at Knitty.com . Be sure to check out this new summer issue.Kimberly brought along her blue coloway Diamond Fantasy Shawl which is moving along rapidly. Carol worked on her Trekking socks. We spied another Lady Eleanor shawl done in Noro yarn.

My project,a felted flappable bag, made an appearance as well. I am happy to say it’s almost ready to felt. One snag in the bag was the fact I was short one skein of yarn.....not to worry.....my stash came to the rescue. I found an orphan skein of the same wool in another color. Now for the fun part.........

After project viewing, we moved on to discuss the creation of a Ocean State web ring for knit and crochet bloggers from Rhode Island as well as bloggers who have any ties to the state. We had a great day and hope to meet again in the future.

Friday, June 22, 2007

Summertime Felting?



You know how it is! You want to be creative, but it sometimes doesn't fit the season and you have to wait until it's colder to enjoy your creation. That's where I stand now with my felted scarf. Sue and I played with some of her luscious wool on Wednesday. We were inspired by Patty's lovely scarf a few weeks ago and we knew we had to do some wet felting. Of course......Sue already had worked with dry and wet felting in the past so I was the lucky student!! Here's the result................

Thursday, June 14, 2007

What a Morning Surprise!!!



Liz you are so delightfully generous in creating such a special package of goodies for me! Not only did she provide some wonderful teas such as Moroccan Mint, but she also sent along two kinds of sock yarn ,one of which is Cherry Tree Hill in a sparkling colorway. I love the mini-bump of Iowa Wool and the mohair accent locks. The teddy bear in her college colors is soft and cuddly.

This morning I used the Badger Balm to soothe my dishpan hands and they feel wonderful!

Tomorrow: I'll be brewing my loose tea using a People's brew basket; measuring my projects with a Kitty tape measure; eating luscious chocolate .

Thank you once again, Liz!

Monday, June 11, 2007

Rock Gardens



I've decided that I must explore rock gardening more thoroughly. I fell in love with some container rock gardens at the Farmer's Daughter nursery in Wakefield,RI. It dawned on me that I had a wonderful aged cement container that I could fill with some dwarf perennials.




Friday, June 08, 2007

Monday, June 04, 2007

Birthdays and Flowers





Yesterday we celebrated my mom's birthday with a cookout and two birthday cakes. Can you believe it! My niece send along a Pastiche marscapone birthday cake that was to die for.............

Enjoy the False Indigo as well as the roses.