Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a good Christmas this year. We have had a great time. I gave and received some wonderful gifts, have eaten some wonderful food, spent time with family and friends and for the most part really enjoyed relaxing and being kind of lazy.

I hope 2009 starts off great for everyone!

Pink and Grey Scarf--SOLD

This scarf is made from pink variegated bamboo and a gray "ribbon" that is made up of merino, viscose and polyamide. The result is a soft, silky, yet very warm scarf. The pattern is a rose path diamond twill. Fringe is twisted. The scarf measures 6x68 and sells for $60.

A Sassy Purse for a Sassy Girl

Elizabeth's purse is the same pattern as the others I've made. It's pearl cotton with some specialty yarns (merino tape, bamboo and soy silk in this case). I made it a little smaller for her because she tends to try to carry everything she can in a purse and I didn't think a homemade purse could withstand the test. At any rate, I hope she loves it! Merry Christmas!

Piano Lesson

I went to meet my new piano teacher yesterday--her name is Jan Mesrobian. I liked her. She teaches a little differently than my other teachers did, but that's to be expected as I'm an adult now and she's a different person and all.

I'm going to enjoy it, though, and am really looking forward to getting started. Maybe I can figure out how to put some sound-bits on here and you can hear me play sometime!

Book Review--Wicked by Gregory Maguire

Wicked by Gregory Maguire is a great book. A really great book. I saw the play last year in Chicago and really enjoyed it. The book, which I read before seeing the play and then again this past month, is SO much better. It felt to me like the play "disney-ized" Maguire's story a little more than necessary. It's still a great musical, but not really the story presented in the book.

I really enjoyed this book the second time through. I'm surprised at how little I remembered from my first reading, but I thoroughly enjoyed it this time around. Maguire takes the Wonderful Wizard of Oz story and rewrites it from the perspective of the Wicked Witch of the West. Her life is chronicled from her conception to her death. She is a very lovable and interesting character.

The main thesis of the book is asking the questions "what is good and evil?" and "who gets to determine what is defined as good and evil?" For me, the analogy presented in the book is of Nazi Germany during the rise of Hitler. I haven't found any articles about it, but David agrees with my perception.

I re-read Wicked for the purpose of reading the next two books in the series: Son of a Witch and Lion Among Men.

Happy Anniversary to Me and David!

Today is our 18th anniversary! I feel as if yesterday we were walking down the aisle and David was crying and I was trying VERY hard not to laugh. How fun it's been!

A Brown Purse

This brown cotton purse was commissioned by my friend Erin for her daughter Jordan. It's mostly brown cotton with highlights in green cotton and a lighter brown variegated soy silk. I think it turned out really nicely. Plus, I'm getting the hang of sewng these little bags together.

A New Piano AND a Big Surprise, all in one day!

So, yesterday was a big day--so big in fact that I had a really hard time going to sleep. At any rate, I've been saving up for some time to buy a new electronic piano keyboard and finally had almost enough and went and bought one yesterday. I love it. I've been practicing, and my hands are actully sore. I can't believe I went for 20 years without playing.

Then yesterday David also gave me my big surprise. It's an anniversary gift that he's been sneaking around for a while getting everything done on it and it's really sweet and wonderful. It's a pencil and charcoal drawing made from a picture taken of us when we were in Salzburg, Austria this summer. I think it's a really good likeness and will enjoy keeping it around forever.

Red Shawl

This shawl is for my friend, Erin's, mother. It's made from a slightly darker and shinier red tencel and a red bamboo. The pattern is called M&O. The pattern creates a very nice, overall, lacy pattern. I think this shawl looks rich. It feels very silky and wonderful, too. I think this would be a wonderful shawl for a party or church.

4 Towels for Tony

Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas and thanks for being my guinea pig!

These are 4, 100% cotton towels woven in a diamond twill pattern. Each towel is different. The experimental part of these towels was that I used a special yarn called "taffy" that is "slubbed" which means it has thick and thin portions to it. I did not find the effect to really be worth the cost of the yarn, but Tony will have to tell me whether it "makes" the towels for him.

These are really pretty. The colors are great and are, in my opinion, perfect "Tony" colors! Enjoy!

Waffle Weave Wash Cloths

3 of these wash cloths, in 100% cotton, will make their way to my aunt BJ. I have 5 others that I'm going to send to the Old Oaks Ranch for consignment unless someone hollers for them before Monday. ($10 a piece plus shipping)

Birthday Party!

While it wasn't really a party, we did celebrate the birthday in style. David bought me a lovely German chocolate cake from C'est la Vie, a French bakery in town (really owned and run by French people).

Then we went to dinner at my favorite restaurant, 206 Front. I had toasted ravioli and lamb chops and couscous.

Then back home for presents (yea!) and cake (yea!) I received money, socks and a silver heart key ring from Tiffany. Not pictured because it didn't show up well... It was a wonderful birthday!

Happy Birthday to ME!!!

I turn the "proverbial" 39 today...for real. I'll have pics of birthday cake and dinner later today or tomorrow morning.

Waffle Weave Wash Cloth

These wash clothes are thick and spongy and wonderful. I can't wait to give them a try. I ended up making 7 full size and 1 short one. I kept 4, am giving 1 as a white elephant gift for book club and the final 3 are going to my dad for a Christmas present.

2 Alpaca Boucle Scarves

These are gifts that my friend Tony will give to his mothers. They are made from oatmeal, pink and blue alpaca boucle. Soft, fuzzy, cuddly and wonderful. I have a hard time parting with these! I left the fringe loose on these because I felt that it showed off the yarn to its fullest.

Tony, hope your moms love them!

Oliver

Oliver is contemplating a second career as Rudolph as the holidays approach...

Kitchen Towels for Auntie J

These are made from Cottolin which is 60% cotton and 40% linen. I don't know how they did it but they took only the good properties of each to create a wonderful fiber that makes amazing table linens. I love these towels (these particularly but also the ones I have made from cottolin). It is more expensive than cotton, by quite a bit, and I have yet to decide if the extra cost is worth it...some days I do some days I don't. But these towels convince me that maybe it is!

Announcing the New 3am Spa Treatment by Lochi Butler

First is the facial. She uses the soft fur of her face, lubricated by her wet nose to rub all over your face for that gentle clean your face needs.

Second is the exfoliation. Equipped with an especially rough tongue scrubbing away all that dead skin is nothing for Lochi. She can scrub until you are totally raw if you aren't careful, though, so burrowing all exposed skin under the covers is highly recommended.

Third is the all over body massage. Performed especially well by Lochi as she runs up and down your body from head to foot. Turning over doesn't stop her, nope. She is also an expert log roller, so find a comfy position so that those extra sore muscles can benefit from her padding across your body.

Finally, is the love cocoon. Some spas simply wrap you in a warm towel and put warm stones on pressure points, but Lochi spreads her entire body across yours, gets comfortable and purrs until you fall into a fast sleep cuddled by her extra warmth.

Texas Tech Rocks!!!!!

My Other Baby is Going to College!

Woohoo! Elizabeth has also been accepted to USM! Two Golden Eagles come fall 2009!

A Soft BRIGHT Baby Blanket

100% cotton, so perfect for the California weather where it's going. The parents requested bright...I think they got it!

My Baby Is Going to College

Alyssa got her acceptance letter to USM today, so now it's official! Yea! Congratulations! We're so proud!

Warm Fuzzies

If this scarf doesn't give you the warm fuzzies, then you are simply cold hearted! (or a hard hearted Hannah as my mom used to call me). It is made using alpaca boucle, which is a loopy yarn, and fleece chenille. It is wonderfully soft and warm and very cuddly. I loved it from the minute I started working on it.

This scarf is a custom order for Aunt Betty.

Fall Cleaning

I've been doing a little cleaning up and updating of the blog today. I think I was so disappointed with my Aggies that I "forgot" to update the football season scores.

I sold a bunch of scarves (8 I think) recently. That's very exciting. I'm thinking of putting up a "real" web-site for shopping purposes. I'll let you know if I do. It'll be easier to buy that way, though most of the orders will still be custom orders. I can re-do any scarf I've already made, so if you're still thinking about Christmas gifts, look through the blog and see if you see a scarf or some towels or napkins that you'd like, and I'll get them done for you.

Other than that, it's just been watching the girls get ready for college. They've both applied to USM here in town. They were very excited after doing so.

Vignette

I haven't done one of these in a while...

We were sitting around the living room talking last night about the conference that David had just returned home from. The management people were discussing issues involved in hiring Generation Y young people--reliance on the cell phone, instant messaging, text messaging, short attention span, no grounding in reality. [and as an editor's note, please understand that our conversations at home don't always have a clear transition from one person speaking to the next.]

David said, "So, people are really scared of hiring people from Generation Y."

Alyssa asked, "Is Gran's generation Generation X?"

David replied, "No, Generation X is your mom and my generation."

Alyssa said, "Oh, so what is Gran's generation."

David: "The Baby Boomers."

Elizabeth: "Who is Generation A?"

Alyssa's New Purse

It's very similar to the orange and brown one I made about a month ago, only this one is black, white and turquiose. I think it's adorably cute. It has a flap over the top.

A Burgandy and Blue Scarf

Lucious is the best description for this scarf. The burgandy yarn is merino wool and is VERY soft. It's hand-dyed so has a tone-on-tone variegation. The blue yarn is soy silk and is very soft and silky. Together, they create a scarf that is both beautiful to look at and a pleasure to wear next to your skin. The fringe is knotted and left loose to show off the wonderful merino wool.

It measures 5.5x69 and sells for $50.

A Rosy Pink Lace Scarf--SOLD

This scarf is made from Anne Yarn produced by Schaefer Yarn Company. It is truly a special yarn. It is handpainted, so each skein is unique and variegated, and it is so soft and shimmery that you'll want to wear the scarf every day. My friend in Chicago swears it is significantly warmer than it's thickness would suggest...an efficiency I like.

The pattern for this scarf is called Breaks and Recesses and makes a wonderful lacy pattern throughout that looks like little boxes surrounding a center opening. The fringe is twisted.

The scarf measures 8.75x65 and sells for $85.

Oooh...shiny

:)

Dark Grey and Berries Alpaca Scarf--SOLD

This alpaca scarf, like the others, is wonderfully soft and fluffly. The weave structure is called "crepe" and gives the scarf some dimension/thickness that is also very nice.

If you love wool, alpaca will become your next best friend. It's soft and very warm.

This scarf measures 9x68 and sells for $55.

A Bridal Shower Gift

Two towels and a bread cloth for my daughter's church teacher who is getting married. They are 100% cotton.

A Very Special Green Scarf--SOLD

This scarf is made using tencel and velura. Tencel is a fiber made from wood pulp and looks and feels like silk--for a lot less cost! It is stronger than cotton and shimery and very pretty. Velura is a polyester chenille that feels so soft that all you want to do is touch it.

The scarf is designed based on some of the scarves I've seen in the old movies I've been watching recently. They all seem to have these broad horizontal stripes, and since a lot of the moves are still in black and white, the stripes look tone-on-tone to me.

The combinations of textures and colors in this scarf will make it one of your favorites.

It measures 8.5x68, has twisted fringe and sells for $65.

My First Double Weave!

So, I'm really excited to post this picture of my first double weave project. It's a blanket made from 100% cotton in burgandy, gold, oatmeal and green. Matches perfectly in my living room. I'm very proud of this project! The fringe is twisted and it's very heavy and warm. I'm looking forward to cool weather already! Maybe we'll turn the AC down tonight.

Brown and Beige Alpaca Scarf--SOLD

This really soft and pretty alpaca scarf is made using a variegated brown and burgandy yarn mixed with a beige to create a traditional diamond pattern throughout. It is hemmed and the fringe is twisted.

Alpaca is very soft and very warm and really a wonderful fiber.

The scarf measures 5.5x68 and sells for $55.

Christmas Napkins

This is a custom order from my mom (so if you like them, you'll need to also make a custom order :) )




There are 16 napkins, 4 sets of 4. I don't know how she will give them away--in what kind of sets. I can see the sets I've put together below, or all green, or one from each group. It'll be fun to play with and think about.



They are made from a blend of cotton and linen and are really soft and wonderful to touch. The cotolin is stain resistant and washes and dries like a dream. Use them, throw them in the washer and dryer with your other towels and they are ready to go again.

Solids

Colors with three 1/2" white stripes.

Multicolored 2" stripes.

White with 2 1/2" colored stripe.

It's a Sad Day

My friend's daughter died yesterday. She was the same age as my daughters. She had cystic fybrosis and while her death wasn't really a surprise, it's still difficult to imagine. I don't have anything else to say.

Happy Birthday Mom!

100% cotton towels in blue, green and white. They are really soft and wonderful and the pattern, I think, is very pretty. Mom said she's been showing them off to her friends already. Happy birthday Mama!

Dry for a bit

It finally quit raining and hopefully we won't have any more major downpours. We were really lucky this time. People were so scared and worried. Post-Katrina Stress Syndrome I call it!

Afternoon Update

Still nothing really bad...just windy and lots of rain, but no flooding, so that's good....a lazy Labor Day so far. Thank goodness.

So far so good...

The weather isn't great, but so far it isn't terrible either. It was eerily like Katrina in that I woke up at 8am this morning to wind and rain, but nothing of the magnitude and power that I woke up to three years ago. I decided to check out the weather, like I did three years ago, and luckily we still have power. When I turned on the tv to monitor Katrina, we lost our power.

I'm hoping that things don't get significantly worse. I'm not foolish enough to think that this is as bad as it will get, but I do hope that we manage to keep power and cable (for internet) and that the worst thing I have to address is the leak in my living room that I can't seem to find the source of!

More updates later.

3 years ago...and then today

Three years ago on August 29th, Hurricane Katrina changed all of our lives here in the Mississippi and Louisiana Gulf Coast. We will never be able to sit "easy" while watching a hurricane brew into the Gulf of Mexico. People in Hattiesburg have been buying water and stocking up on supplies since Tuesday of last week. It's almost been surreal, but it's definitely been scary.

It looks like Hattiesburg is going to be spared the wrath that we felt with Katrina. They are still predicting bad weather tomorrow and Tuesday, but nothing of the magnitude we felt with Katrina. We had sustained winds of 100mps with gusts to 120--we assume there were stronger gusts but the instrument that measures wind speed was destroyed at 120.

I'm happy to not be going through the horrors we went through 3 years ago, but I feel seriously for New Orleans. At least they seem to have a plan to evacuate people beforehand, which is so refreshing, but it's still scary to think that there are people who haven't left and don't plan to. Let's hope that there isn't a repeat of the horrible flooding and human tragedy experienced three years ago.

Book Review: Miracle at Speedy Motors

Like all of McCall Smith's books about Mma Romastwe, I loved this book. It is so refreshing reading his books. Mma deals with all kinds of crazy things and manages to maintain perspective: something I wish I could do better.

This installment in the series deals with the temptation to lie because we've made a mistake and coming to terms with the outfall of those lies--it's better to just simply tell the truth as we all know. The main case in Miracle involves Mma attempting to find a woman her family. After discovering in her adulthood that she was adopted, the woman wishes to find out if she has other family members. Mma makes a rather big mistake in this case, but it all turns out well in the end.

Building on the theme of mistakes, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni makes one of his own in trusting in a doctor who said he could cure Motholeli of her paralysis. But, Motholeli, mature beyond her years, accepts this mistake and moves on and accepts her fate in life.

All in all, this is a great read. A wonderful reprieve from all the political heckling and miseries on tv and a fun stop over in the life of Mma Romatswe et al. I look forward to the next edition!

GO AWAY GUSTAV!!!

Book Review: Mistress of the Sun by Sandra Gulland

I was so excited to see that Sandra Gulland had a new book out. I had decided that she was happy with her masterpiece trilogy on Josephine and Napolean (which was such a wonderful read) and I was VERY happy to see that she was working on another book. I was even more excited when I saw it at the bookstore last month.

Mistress of the Sun didn't seem to have the same magical appeal that the Josephine trilogy did. I can't really put my finger on exactly what it was that was missing, but there wasn't a passion or innate love of the story that was present in the Josephine trilogy.

That said, Mistress is still a good book and kept me interested and reading. Gulland tells the story of Petite, Louis XIV's mistress, as she grows from a little girl until she is introduced at court. A woman of many talents, Petite can tame wild horses and ride like a man and garners the attention of the king during a hunt. The story about their love and relationship is very good and shows the heartbreak of being the king's mistress--the denied children, the lack of control over your life, etc.

I highly recommend Mistress of the Sun to readers who love historical fiction. And if you do read it, please let me know if you found the chronology a little confusing, especially once Petite goes to court.

A Very Soft and Elegant Beige Scarf--SOLD

This scarf is made from champagne colored tencel and white velura. The tencel feels and looks like silk while the velura is slightly fuzzy and extremely soft. The contrast in textures creates a fabric that looks like damask or brocade. Very elegant. The fringe is twisted. Be sure to click on the pictures for a close up view of the pattern and texture. I wish you could feel this scarf as it is fabulous.

It measures 8x65" exclusive of fringe and sells for $65.

My first purse!

I think it's absolutely adorable and am SO looking forward to taking it with me on my trip to TX tomorrow. Please keep your fingers crossed that I actually get to leave because I'm really looking forward to 1) staying with my Aunt Janice and Uncle Jackie and 2) taking my overshot weaving class.

At any rate, the purse is made from 7 different yarns ranging from 100% wool, 50/50 soy silk and wool, chenille, wool that is spun so that it is thick and thin, bamboo, and mohair. It was a little troublesome on the loom because the sticky yarns (the mohair and the thick and thin wool) were really grabbing each other and wouldn't open up. But the finished product is quite wonderful. The strap goes all the way around the bag and is long enough to have the purse sit at my hip area. It's woven from wool and chenille.

Can't wait to give a product test result sometime next week!

Day 16--Vienna and Last Day of our Trip

On our last day of our trip, we slept in, had breakfast and then headed out to the Hapsburg Treasury Museum. I was really looking forward to this museum as I'd seen pictures of the amazing crowns, jewels, etc., but to be honest I was a little disappointed. It was so crowded with school tour groups that we couldn't get close to many of the exhibits, and when I was able to get close, the jewels didn't look real. I'm not sure how one vision tests the validity of a 20 carat sapphire or emerald, but somehow they looked plastic or glass.

Still, it was pretty impressive looking at the crowns and the baby bassinet and gold embroidered blanket. It looked like being royalty was probably pretty uncomfortable.

We also visited some of the monuments that we had passed by the day before but didn't get pictures of. The most interesting was the Jewish Monument dedicated to the 65000 Austrian Jews who were killed during WWII at concentration camps. The monument is a depiction of library doors that are locked with chains, the doorknobs removed. The books in the library form the walls of the monument but are all turned inward with the spines hidden because we'll never know the knowledge and art that these people could have contributed.

We then went for lunch at Nordeste. It's a fast-food seafood restaurant seen all over Europe and the food is really good.

We went back to our hotel to pack up and rest and avoid the rain and later headed to the Hapsburg crypt which, in truth was really quite fasinating. And creepy.

That late afternoon we met up with some friends who had also stayed an extra day after the tour and went to the Opera house to get tickets for the standing room area only. We didn't realize that we were actually getting the tickets and going to stand and so David didn't dress in his pants so we were told to leave. It wasn't a big deal as I wasn't all that excited about going anyway, but did want to see the opera house. We did some shopping and when the group was ready to leave we met them and walked to dinner at the Italian place we ate our first night in Vienna.

I want to go back to Vienna to see a few things--the horses (don't remember how to spell it) and the opera house, but we'll get real tickets for both events state-side before we leave.

I really like Vienna, and Austria in general. The people are so lively and friendly and I really enjoyed the beauty of the architecture and the spaces. We had a great time there, but were really looking forward to coming home. We'd been gone long enough.