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!