Beauty of the Loom

Today while weaving I was struck with the beauty of my loom and the weaving process.  I took several pictures from different perspectives to try to capture what I saw.  Follow the link to see them.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I did today.

And after the stress...

...comes relief, but also a major nasty icky cold.  I'm finally over it, but now have lots of work to do.

Revisions on the dissertation are minor and I should be able to crank them out in a few days, but it's the work-work that's daunting.  Lots to do and manage and I'm still tired.  I'm sure it'll all come around soon enough.

In other news:  The new kitten is working out perfectly.  We love having her, she has taken the stress of Pearl's need to bite and chew away from Lochi and now Lochi is much happier.

AND I've been knitting like crazy.  I never knew I would like knitting, and now I can't stop planning projects.  I'm having a great time and really enjoying the learning process.  I especially like making hats!  I'm super curious about making socks, so manybe I'll get some of those cranked out in the near future.

I haven't fully settled back into reading yet, but it's coming along.  Currently enjoying "Duchess in Love" by Eloisa James. 

I'm officially Dr. Butler

I passed my defense yesterday with flying colors.  By what I've been told it was a very easy defense.  They gave me lots of kudos and compliments and really didn't have any issues that can't be addressed very easily.  I like that as it's exactly how I wanted the thing to go...so, now I have to find some other project to fill my time.  Today and the rest of this weekend that will be partying!

The new kitten

About a month ago I hinted that a new kitten was coming to our house.  Her name is Zora and she's a beautiful calico.   While we've had some adjustment issues, I think she'll do just fine.  She's very sweet and quite fun to be around...and VERY serious about the food bowl.  No one comes between her and her food!

Dissertation Defense

...is on Thursday.  I'm a wreck!

First two weeks of August

I have to say that the first two weeks of August have been probably the most arduous of my work at PRCC.  And that was with 3 days off to take Elizabeth to Disney World for her internship.

I'm hoping that now that this intensity is over that I'll have some time to breathe and enjoy life a little more.  I've said that more than once in the past year and few months, so I'm not overly optimistic that such will be the case.  Wish me luck.  I miss reading, relaxing, and overall enjoying my life.

Christmas 2011 Orders

I wanted to let you know that it's time to order Christmas weaving orders.  I know it's early and you're probably not even thinking about Christmas yet, but think of how great you'll feel to get a few gifts bought without 1) having to go to the store and 2) panicking because it's almost the day!

Here's how orders work:
1) send me a message either here at lesliestbutler@gmail.com
2) tell me what item(s) you want; colors, personality of person receiving gift, etc.
3) when I'm finished I'll let you know the final cost and you can send me a check, pay through paypal or give me cash if you're in the Hattiesburg area.

It's that easy.

What I make:
1) towels:  100% cotton kitchen towels are ~18x30 and the best towels you'll ever use.  They are $20 a piece.
2) napkins:  100% cotton napkins are ~18x18 and sell for $12.50 a piece.  If you want a custom size I can do that and will price according to cost of yarn +$10/hour
3) scarves:  Many different options.  Cost of yarn + $10/hour.  Most scarves run between $50-$75.  Sizes can be customized.
4) Shawls:  Many different options.  Cost of yarn + $10/hour.  Most shawls run between $70-$100.  Sizes can be customized.
5) placemats:  Lots of options here in both yarn, design and size.  Cost of yarn +$10/hour.
6) other items I can make are blankets, pillows, bags, yardage for that seamstress in the family.

A new kitten

...this way cometh!

Happily Typing Away

Today is a quiet day at the office.  My new (and temporary) office mate is out of town. My office neighbor is also out of town. The other folks I work with are frantically finishing stuff for a deadline.  I'm left down here to work on other stuff--lots to do--mostly it involves typing.

I have also been playing "Typer Shark" during my breaks in sections of the presentation.  Not totally sure about the sense in that since I'm typing so much as it is, but there you go.

I didn't learn to type in any official capacity.  My mom rented a typewriter for me when I was in high school--I think at the beginning of the summer before I started my senior year.  It was an electronic one from Flatt's Stationers.  She brought home a book that is used to teach elementary kids how to type and I sat down and plowed through that book in one day.  She told me that if I learned and could pass her test that she'd buy me an electric typewriter of my very own.  Little did she know that she would have to come through with that promise in less than a week.  My favorite part of my typewriter was that it had its own correction tape built in with a fairly short memory so I could go back several words and correct.  Many college papers were typed on that typewriter before computers became readily available.

But, my love of typewriters goes back much further than that.  When I was a very small child, my mom had a manual typewriter and I was fascinated with how the arms swung up and smacked the page and voila a letter appeared.  I loved trying to get the arms jammed together by typing too fast.  You had to really work to get those letters to work...but there's nothing like typing along and hearing the "ding" of being at the end of the row.  I miss that little ding.  It felt like you'd accomplished something.

Another important typewriter in my days was the one I played on at Grandma M's house.  We kids would sit in "Mike's room" where the typewriter was and type ourselves silly.  She must have had fun times reading all our silly drivel.  I started a novel on that one.  The main character's name was Nina (after one of my favorite soap characters).  I don't remember getting much further than the introduction.  I'm sure there was lots of action and romance, though.  I could also spend hours just copying text from the books that were in there.  I found a literature book that someone had cut out the center of each page and glued pages together.  I couldn't imagine a more horrible thing to have happen to a book.

And today I type lots and lots of words.  Fairly quickly, too.  I started on the "normal" level of TyperShark and it's too slow.  So far, I'm doing fairly well.  I just completed Level 5 and have a WPM of 64 and an accuracy of 99%.  I can go faster, but would have had to choose the "hard" option and I didn't feel up to that first thing this morning.  Maybe after lunch.

Catching up with my life

This weekend I've spent quietly at home.  I needed that as I've been going like crazy for the past couple of months.  It's been nice to decide what I wanted to do and just do it and not worry about what else I have to do.  Luxury, for sure.

Dissertation news:  I will be defending my dissertation on August 25th.  Until then I have to prepare my PowerPoint and practice my presentation.  But, mostly I feel relaxed and ready to get that hurdle over with.  I'm ready to be called "Dr. Butler." :)

General Health:  Seems to be fine.  I've had some stomach upsets the past few days.  I think I've narrowed down the culprit, but it'll take a few days of testing to see.  Not bad enough to go to the dr, but not comfortable for general happiness.  David and I started Weight Watchers last week.  We both lost 4 pounds today.  Keep your fingers crossed that we'll continue to stick with it this time around!

Reading:  I've been reading lots of good books, mostly romances.  I tried picking up the 6th in the Quilter's Apprentice series by Jennifer Cheviarini.  Just couldn't get into it.  The writing in that series really went down after the first few.  I won't be buying any others.  I enjoyed Stefanie Sloane's new book "Angel in my Arms."  I thought the characters were absolutely delightful.  The writing was sometimes confusing, and I really think the book would have benefited from another editorial run-through, but I'll be reading her next book which comes out this week.  I started "Mistress of the Art of Death" today and was hooked by about page 6.  I was devastated to find out that Diana Norman, aka Ariana Franklin, passed away in January.  I've enjoyed (very much so) every book I've ready by her.  Otherwise, I've been reading lots of romances as I get through all the trying times I've been going through lately.

Grandma:  Still missing her like crazy.  I try to keep roses around me all the time because they always make me think of her.  However, it's becoming expensive as they have to be thrown out after a few days.  I keep thinking of new blog entries to do about her and there are just too many.  I think I'll write her a book after this dissertation mess is over.

Grandma's Hands

One thing that I never really realized was how much in motion Grandma was.  Her hands particularly were always moving.  Seeking out something to smooth, touch, or rub.  I had this moment of realization upon seeing her last week and realizing how very very still her hands were and how very very wrong that image was to everything I'd ever known about her.

I envisioned her sitting on the couch when company came over (I was a small child at the time, playing and sitting on the floor listening to their conversation.  It was summer and hot).  I looked over at Grandma and in her lap she held her hands together, but there was kleenex or handkerchief in her hands and she was fiddling with it.  I remember trying to mimic what her hands were doing but without the necessary prop I knew I just looked dumb, so I went back to my playing.

In the picture above, Grandma is holding her hands just like I remembered from that day long ago.  After that first image of me sitting there watching her hands, I had the image of this picture which I look at often.  I love the happiness that's on everyone's faces here.  We look truly content (It was taken during Christmastime 2006).  If you look closely you'll see that Grandma has her hands in her lap, Alyssa's are just the same.  Elizabeth is hugging my arm, which is another image I have of Grandma's hands. 

The number of times she reached out to hold my hand is countless in my mind.  But there I am, holding on tightly because she never held hands loosely.  If you have pictures of Grandma, go back and look at them.  She's almost always holding onto someone's hand.  At minimum she's touching them. 

I truly think this is one of the reasons that so many people felt loved by Grandma.  She always wanted you to know that she cared about you, and she showed it through her touch.

Grandma Liked Her Wine

...but shhh!  Don't tell anyone that she did.  She would take a little glass at night (probably no more than a couple of ounces) because it helped her sleep better.

I would bring her a few bottles when I came to see her.  She really liked the sweet fruit wines.  At this place in Ohio in Amish country where we visited, we would get blackberry and cherry wines, which were her favorites.  Once, when we brought her over some blackberry wine she said, "oh could you open it for me."  And so David opened the bottle and showed her where he was going to put it in the refridgerator.  She said, "I'd better have a taste first."

So, she grabbed the bottle from David, carefully guided it to her lips and took a slug--not a dainty sip, not a taste, a full-out slug--of that wine, probably 3-4 seconds worth of a drink.  When she was finished she said, "Mmmm...that's good."  She handed the bottle to David and walked back into the living room.

2 of my favorite memories of Grandma

1.  No matter how hot it was outside or inside, or how much work she'd been doing, he skin was always cool to the touch.  I thought she was "refreshing."

2.  Her favorite lotion smelled like roses.  I always think of Grandma when I smell roses.

Memories of Grandma

I've spent the morning going through my blog and picking out entries that I thought were interesting snippets of life and love of Grandma T.  Not all are directly related to her, but there's a connection that I feel there that I wanted to pull together.  I have 20 single spaced pages.

I don't have a lot of experience with people dying, and especially not with people I care deeply about.  I honestly feel like I'm without an anchor.  Grandma T was such an important person to me that I wanted everything I did to make her happy or proud...and now that she's not here to talk to and hear stories about me I feel adrift...at a loss...and very very sad.  I'm not exactly sure how to deal with this loss.  And it's really very scary.

Luella

My new office monster is named Luella.  I picked her up in Asheville and think she's adorable.  I like her because...well, she's "her," but in an odd way she also reminds me of my Grandma (who isn't doing so well these days) being a red-head and all.  And I think Grandma would love her alter-ego to be named Luella and be a hula dancer and to have giant purple lips and a lime green heart on her bottom...

Here's to my sweet Grandma.  I can't think of the words to say how much you have meant to me my entire life!!!

Today I will take a giant step forward

Mother may I?  Please?  Pretty please with whipped cream and cherries on top?

I'm going to sit down and make myself make these revisions today.  I am thankful that I have Fridays off this summer because it does give me a free day to work on this stuff...

I'd rather be weaving and working on my new knitting...and whatever else one does with a day off--oh yeah reading!  Soon, I'll be able to do that all the time, so today I'll "suck it up" and get on with it and hopefully this will be the last major go-round, and a defense will happen before the end of the summer semester as planned...

Fingers crossed for me everyone!

Two Steps Forward and One Backward

This dissertation business is tiring...exhausting...and unbelievably frustrating.

It's not a big step backwards, but it is, and it means time spent not getting to the defense...and that seems to be all I care about right now.

I'll need to revise some data analysis.  I know it's the right thing to do, and I'll go through with it, but still.  I just want to sit down and cry and throw and big hissy fit and all that stuff! 

Instead I'm trying to remain poised and professional.  I think I'm waivering, though, towards hysterical two-year old mode before long!

Resume normal life

Revisions are complete and sent to my dissertation advisor.  I can resume normal life until I hear back from her!

Revising

I'm revising the dissertation this week.  I'm hoping to have revisions finished and it sent off to my committee by Monday next week...then I prepare my powerpoint presentation and wait until the defense, which will hoepfully happen sometime between July 7-12.  Wish me luck. 

I hope to be back on in the meantime, but can't guarantee it...I'm feeling rather stressed right now.

Quilting

I haven't quilted since Katrina (that's almost 6 years). Not in a serious way.  I've made a quilt for a friend who lost her house in Katrina and then made the quilt bee quilt and tried to do a few other things, but nothing serious...nothing really "interesting"...and certainly not with the former passion that I used to quilt.

A few years ago I went to the Houston Quilt Shot to hopefully re-invigorate myself...it didn't happen.

However, Alyssa wins the quilt bee quilt and needs lessons, and suddenly I'm the quilting diva.  I just ordered a book, three patterns, and can't wait to get started!

Thank you Alyssa...

I'm nervous today

I'm going to see my dissertation advisor today to get the feedback about my draft.  I'm nervous because of all the misery and crap I went through at the University of Kentucky with my committee...I know it's a totally different situation and totally different people and that things are really not even comparable.  But tell that to whatever part of my brain has said that they are and it'll tell you that "you don't know that.  Maybe it is going to be JUST the same and after all this work I'll be told: 'start over because your work sucks.'"

And that's just terrifying, to be honest.  So, today I'm nervous and can't write anything interesting or pithy. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be back to my normal self.

Weaving as a Vocation

I've been thinking a lot lately about what I'd like to do when I'm finished with the dissertation.  I guess that makes sense since I'm almost finished with the dissertation.  While I've experienced a lot of down time with it recently (frenzy of work, then nothing for weeks, more frenzy...that sort of thing), it has occupied my brain and energy.  I'm "saving myself" for when I need to be in a frenzy and then recovering after the frenzy more than you'd think.

But, since I'm almost finished, I've been thinking how I will spend my time.  I'd really like to take back up my piano lessons.  Will try to find someone who teaches evenings or weekends.  I've also toyed with the idea of getting a French horn and learning to play again and possibly joining a local orchestra or band or something.  The one thing I miss about high school is the band.

Mostly, I've thought about whether I could quit the real world job and enter the studio--could I weave as a vocation?  The simple and easy answer to that is absolutely not.  I'd have to charge at least twice what I do and weave at least twice as much...and then get into a market where things were actually selling at a rate to support my yarn habit.  There's always the opportunity to open a store and see if I could make that fly.  I think in a different market than Hattiesburg I could, but I'd need money to set up a shop and I just don't have that.  So many things to think about, dream about, and hope that one day I can make it happen.

But I really would enjoy the opportunity to weave as a vocation--make it truly what I DO everyday.  Lately I've been dreaming of woven fabrics.  Last night's was awesome--this spotty white lacey thing.  This tells me that my brain is finally resting and coming to its own ideas of what I should be doing.

And how the PhD has anything to do with what I want to do with my life is a mystery I'm trying to solve on a daily basis...seriously, I should be finishing my studio piece if I were wanting to weave as a vocation.

Ah the curvy twists and turns that life takes.  And if you want to think WAY back, look at this blog post from January 2008 shortly after I got my loom.

Bad Hair

I typically don't have what I'd call "bad hair."  My hair has almost always done what I wanted, looked good and cooperated with me with minimal effort on my part.  I usually like my style and can, on most every day, get it to do something that looks decent.

Until this year that is...

My hair has been uspeakably bad this year.  I don't know what happened but a big chunk of it in the crown got severely damaged and ended up looking and feeling like straw for 3-4 months.  I've been trying to treat it and let it grow out and it's finally feeling like hair again and not sticking up everywhere.

But, as a result I've had to keep my hair short since the beginning of the year.  I don't like having short hair.  Short hair definitely has more bad hair days than long hair.  I actually struggle with it each morning trying to figure out how to make it look decent.  And I really don't like to struggle with my hair.  I like it to do what I want it to do and then stay that way all day.  Right now I think I look like a poodle in very bad need of a hair cut.

With a dark streak down the middle because I'm not dying my hair lately either...and while my color was close to my natural color, it was definitely lighter...

Puffy, unruly, frizzy, streaked and short hair is the name of the day.

And every morning I think of this poem for obvious reasons:

There was a little girl
who had a little curl
right in the middle of her forehead.

When she was good
she was very good.

But when she was bad
she was horrid!

Never Disappointing

The Annual Thornton Thimbler Quilt Bee never disappoints.  The 19th was no exception.  On the way home David asked our favorite highlight...so hard to pick one. 

• Mine:  Getting to spend time with my family
• Alyssa's:  Winning the quilt
• Elizabeth's:  Spending time with family (and not working)

Fun times.  I loved the literary event as always.  Watching Doreen rap was awesome.  Seeing Kirby's first quilt was also awesome.  Watching Alyssa win the quilt was fabulous.  Glad to have her officially inducted as a quilter...whether she's ready or not!  Getting to know Emma better was terrific. 

I think it's funny how somehow we manage to do similar themed events--even though we're all so very secretive.  I sit back and wonder how it is our brains can think so similarly.

So, now, I sit back and think about the 20th...what can I do that no one else will do?  How can the girls and I plan a lunch that will be impressive and unlike anything else?  I will have to do a lot of remembering over the next 12 months to plan ahead to June 2011...oh the anticipation is unBEElievable!

19th Annual Thornton Thimbler's Quilt Bee

The 19th annual Thornton Thimbler's Quilt Bee begins today.  I'll go tomorrow with my girls and am looking forward to the whole experience very much.  I have grown to love this weekend that we spend together each year having fun with family and quilting on a quilt.  We hardly ever finish despite adding an extra day and (now) 4 new people.  Things we do besides quilting?

• play games--made up, real, imaginary, etc., usually with prizes
• eat elaborately planned and prepared meals
• go out to dinner where people gawk at us--12 dressed up good-looking women usually draw some attention
• talk
• talk
• talk
• laugh
• laugh until we cry
• remember
• stay up too late
• tell (and write) stories

The bee has been extra-special to me because it allowed me to get to know my mother better.  As a person, not as my mother. I learned to appreciate who she is and her sense of humor and values.  I am so happy that I was able to break away from that traditional relationship we had and see her having fun with other people.  It allowed me to have more fun with her.  I certainly hope my daughters have had the same experience with me.  In addition, the bee has let me get to know my very special aunts and cousins.

It is a tradition like none other that I'm aware of.  Anytime I tell people about the quilt bee they are always curious about what we do and why.  And after I start talking (they'll eventually have to interupt to get me to shut up) they inevitably say, "Oh it's like a family reunion." Yes and no.  It is in that we're all family and get to spend time together but it's so much more than just a reunion.  I honestly believe it has become an "institution" in the Thornton family and I'm very proud to be a member of such a wonderful group!

Let the fun begin ladies!  But don't have all the fun today.  Save some for me tomorrow!

Things...the blog...my life

I've really been out of sorts the past year or so...as the dearth of blog posts demonstrates. I would like to find one thing to blame it on because that would result in a simple solution...but most of the time life isn't simple, one problem isn't the cause for most of us checking out, and solutions are usually much more faceted and complicated that we'd like.

I do hope I'm on the mend.  I'm not confident that I am, but I'm hoping that I can manage things in my life better than I have been and will be able to reconnect with family and friends through my blog page and overall.

So, what's happened?  I've been very very busy with work, very very busy with my dissertation, we've had major renovations in the house, my iron levels have gotten quite low, I've done quite a bit of traveling for work, gotten a new kitten and otherwise worn myself too thin (in the figurative sense, unfortunately not literal).  I haven't been able to read as much as I'd like, play piano very much, weave, or travel for fun.  In fact, I fear I haven't been much fun of late, and I'm ready to change all that.

So, here's to hoping that after this fun-filled bee weekend coming up (can't wait) I'll be "back on track" for my blogs: posting woven items, funny cat pictures (have I mentioned that the kitten fetches? so adorable) and general thoughts about life and how things are going.  Wish me luck...I've truly missed y'all!

Pearl Sleeping in the Sun

In Control

I feel in control for the first time in over a year.  I don't know if it's because today I actually cleaned out my office or if it's because I do see an end to the dissertation haze.  It could be because David and I are going out on a "whim" and having dinner in New Orleans tonight (at Bayona, where else?).  Maybe it's because I realize I only have 2 more weeks of teaching and then life gets to be much more manageable.  Whatever, it feels good to be me today.

Red and White Overshot Table Runner

This was a commission for a co-worker.  I hope she loves it.  I am very proud of it.

A blue and grey alpaca silk shawl

This shawl is luxuriously soft, made from alpaca and silk.  It is in a "deflected doubleweave" design from Handwoven Magazine (March/April 2010).  I don't think it "fulled" or shrunk like it was supposed to and as a result is very long, but quite pretty and I'll forgive the extra length.  I do love it and will be wearing it come fall.

4 Red Towels in Spot Bronson

These towels are woven in a "Spot Bronson" pattern.  It give them dimension and character that I haven't created in my towels before.  I just love it. Spot Bronson is usually reserved for special items like scarves or table runners, but it is also perfect for towels and I'm glad that I tried it out.  I love the rich red color and the feel of them makes you want to wash your hands just so you can dry them!

Madeline Hunter

I have discovered a new writer who I absolutely love:  Madeline Hunter.  I read Ravishing in Red while in Texas for spring break.   Bought the next two in the series while I was there and had been thinking about them ever since.  Finished Provocative in Pearls yesterday and started and am halfway finished with Sinful in Satin.  Dangerous in Diamonds doesn't come out for another month...I don't know how I'll wait to finish this group of books.  Wonderful all around.

They are focused on four women during the early 1800s in England who have for one reason or another come to live together as independent women.  Following the rule that they don't pry into their reasons for being alone, but simply love and support one another, they each grow and find love along the way.  Sinful in Satin is especially interesting because it is about Celia, the daughter of a famous prostitute in London.  Her limitations for moving about in society are painful to read about, but it is wonderful to learn how she has faced and eventually overcome as much as possible those limitations.

In Pearls, I was a little worried because when I started it I really didn't like either Hawkeswell or Verity, but by the end I loved them both and was both sad and happy to see their story end.  Happy because it's such a wonderful ending and sad because I didn't want to say goodbye to the characters.

Hunter's books are rich in detail and character development, and most amazingly to me, carry a very interesting plot.  There are mystery elements thrown in.  The solving of those mysteries is important, but carried off in such a way that it doesn't take over the overarching plot.  AND I didn't solve it before the time necessary nor feel jipped when I did find out the underlying currents.

Really wonderful books.  I highly highly recommend and cannot wait to read the rest of Hunter's works.  These are definitely on my "to buy" list!

Green, Gold and Pink Variegated Merino Scarf

I made this one using my new Cricket Loom.  It is so soft and shimmery it looks and feels like silk even though it's wool.  Really pretty.  It measures 5x60 and sells for $65.

2 Scarves

I forgot to take a picture of the honeycomb scarf, so I only have 2 pics to post.  The first one is a grey cotton and gold rayon scarf that I sold.  The second one is a green chenille with merino strips that my mama wants.  I wove the second one in the car on my way home from Texas this week.   I bought a new "Cricket Loom" which is lap sized and perfect for road trips.  Too bad the weaving goes so quickly.  I'd need about 12 of these for a real road trip!

I promise I haven't disappeared

I've been super busy with work, dissertation and other claims on my time.  I hope to have some pics of the weaving I've done recently up tomorrow.  And then maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to keep up...

"Cool Stuff" Scarf

I'm wearing this scarf just about every day because I love it so much.  It's made from hand dyed yarns that are tied together in a color-way change to create a rainbow effect.  All are soft, silky, or chenille, and I just love it.  Expensive but worth it!

Mardi Gras Scarf

This is a Mardi Gras scarf that I made for a co-worker to give to her daughter.  It's purple and green cotton with yellow bamboo.  Soft, long, and very "festive."  I love it!

A Blue and White Plaited Twill Rayon Scarf

Soft, silky, oversized.  Perfect for my friend Cathy.

A Bevy of Book Reviews

I'm trying to catch up on my blog (and my life really, but the blog is just as good a place to start as any).  So, I'm going to catch up my book reviews in this blog and hopefully manage to keep up from this point forward.

Bad Day for Sorry by Sophi Littlefield.  A slightly charming, mostly disarming crime novel with a menopausal, formerly abused wife who sets out to "right the wrongs" of all abused women everywhere.  The plot sagged a bit, overly violent.  Not really my cup of tea, but I gave it a shot for bookclub.

On Beauty by Zadie Smith.  Beautifully written, dense novel dealing with lots of issues ranging from race, to class, to feminism.  I found it slow to read at times, and put it down three times before I managed to finish it.  While I was reading it I was enjoying it but something would happen to take me away and I found I didn't want to get back to it for a while.  I'll try another book by Z. Smith..but I'll be skeptical.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby.  This is a memoir of a French man who had a stroke in his mid-40s that left him in "locked-in" syndrome.  He wasn't able to move or communicate except through blinking his eyes.  In this manner he wrote his memoir which is reallyl quite insightful about the power of the mind.

When the Duke Returns by Eloisa James.  The 4th in the Desperate Duchesses series follows Lady Isidore as her duke returns to claim her as his wife (after being married 11 years via proxy) and his life as duke.  It was a charming story about 2 people getting to know each other and themselves and finding love along the way.  My favorite of the duchesses series so far.

Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck.  Steinbeck had a traveling truck built and he drove across most of America in 1961 with his French poodle Charley.  It was a funny, insightful, and sometimes horrifying journey that left me wishing for more miles on the road.  I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes to read, and especially for those who like to travel.

The Boleyn Inheritance by Philipa Gregory.  This is the 5th in the Tudor series by Gregory.  In time, it comes right after The Other Boleyn Girl and tells the stories of Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Jane Boleyn.  It was gripping and I had a hard time putting it down--read rather quickly.  However, I do get tired of Gregory's novels about 2/3 into them. So, while I love them, I'm always happy to finish.

When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James. Unlike Gregory I never want James's novels to end.  This was no exception.  I absolutely loved watching Linnett and Piers fall in love and learn to accept and love themselves as well as their families in the process.  Fun book, and James has a "way" with characters, dialog, and humor.

Just Imagine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.  A fun story about Kit and Baron as they battle wits and power to eventually admit they have fallen in love with one another.  The novel deals with issues pertinent to a Reconstruction Era fiction:  race relations, rebuilding the south, coming to terms with the issues of slavery and the "southern" way of living.  Excellent book, though not your typical romance.

Red and White Stitched Double Weave Table Runner

This was a new process of weaving that I wanted to learn.  It was lots of fun because of all the different patterns--plus the weaving went so quickly.  Love love love it!

Because it's double weave, there is a top side and a bottom side.  The way the "stitching" works in this project is that it brings up some of the bottom threads to the top (and therefore some of the top threads to the bottom) and creates diamond patterns.

Knifty Knitter

I bought a Knifty Knitter to help me with my long hours in the car--I get terribly bored.  On my most recent trip out to Dallas for the Cotton Bowl I made the two items pictured here.  The fuzzy green scarf is for Elizabeth and the hat is for Mom.

A Red Scarf for Alyssa

A Fuzzy Red Scarf

This is a commission for my friend Rachel.

A Fabulous Alpaca Blanket

This blanket was woven using a double weave/double wide technique.  Basically that means there are two layers woven at the same time, and in this set up, they are connected at one side which creates a "fold" and when you take the item off the loom it opens up and voila is double as wide as you wove.  I love double weave because it does feel a little like magic happens.  That said, that much alpaca all stuffed into the loom together doesn't make for happy weaving because the alpaca tends to shed and create little fuzz balls that cause problems.  I'm going to try again with different yarns--maybe some cotton in the warp and a fuzzy chennile for the weft. 

I used 6 different yarns to create the mini striping effect.  The yarn with pink is a hand-dyed alpaca that variegates from pink to brown to green.  I love the overall look!

Bulky Cotton Chenille Scarf

The epitome of cozy.  This scarf is soft and cuddly.  I'd love to have it around my neck!  It measures 7.5 x 68 and sells for $50.  The fringe is twisted.

A couple of scarves

This scarf is made with a yarn called "fuzzy purls" and is fun fun fun! (and all mine!)

This fuzzy and sparkly scarf was given to Elizabeth for a Christmas present.

This scarf was intended for Alyssa's Christmas present but she found the wool slightly scratchy.  It's already sold to a different person!