Finished Project!

See, I do other stuff besides play with clay! I saw one of these when I was surfing around ArtFire the other night, Kathy found the pattern on Ravelry & we proceeded to whip out a couple of these dusters. And I believe if Chan can dig up any leftover novelty yarn she was gonna join in too.
It's super fuzzy, I think I will try another one & not do so many fuzzy chains.

It was a fun & quick project. Too bad the actual dusting with it won't be as much fun. LOL

You need to use a machine washable novelty yarn so you can throw it in the wash when you're done dusting, or if it sits around long enough that it collects dust on it's own. ha ha

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Italian Sausage & Rice

Here is a simple recipe that I kind of threw together myself. I think I saw something similar somewhere & I thought, hey that would be better if you used this & added this.... It's quick, tasty, & makes quite a bit. Since there is just the two of us at home now, it leaves us plenty leftover to freeze for later super quick meals.

Italian Sausage & Rice

1/2 Italian Sausage, sliced (freeze the other half for the next time you want to make this)

1/2 large bell pepper, diced

1 medium onion, sliced

2 stalks celery, diced

2 cans low-sodium chicken broth

1 can Italian diced tomatoes

1 tablespoon minced garlic (or to taste)

1 cup instant white rice

1 cup instant brown rice

Saute the onion, celery, bell pepper & garlic with either a little butter or olive oil, until veggies are tender. Add your sausage, tomatoes & chicken broth & bring to a boil. Once boiling add in your rice, cut the heat down to simmer, cover & cook for about 10-15 minutes. Stirring occasionally. You'll know when it's done, it'll thicken up.

That's it! Enjoy!

The real Diva Kitty - WOW

Here is the real Diva Kitty in this household. Princess turned hunter. LOL

Our windows are perfect for Miss Jazzy to watch the birds & Mr. Squirrel!

She can watch him from the second window without being discovered & scaring him away. Although she does seem to enjoy pouncing in the window where he is at & making him run off from time to time. LOL

Don't forget to check out the other kittys over at Whiskers on Wednesday!

Diva Kitty!

LOL, bet you thought I was talking about Princess Jasmine. While "Diva" fits her to a T, I'm talking about this adorable Diva Kitty Sock-It Bag that I got from Kathy. Check out her shop, she makes the greatest Sock-It Bags, beautiful yarn & now she even has gorgeous hand-dyed spinning fiber!

Along with the most adorable project bag she also sent along a sample spinning batt with pretty aqua/yellow fiber, sparkles & bits of denim. A note pad, a sweet card & some euclann wash.And I now have Mini Sweet Peas in my store. For anyone who would like a smaller version of my regular Sweet Peas.
Hope everyone had a great July 4th weekend!

Yarndemon Artisan Studio ArtFire Buy & Sell Handmade

Yarndemon Artisan Studio ArtFire Buy & Sell Handmade

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Look! I opened an Art Fire shop. Same as the Etsy shop, just trying something new. :)

Happy Birthday Chan!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHAN!

I hope you have a wonderful day today!!

Sissy & Gretchie are ready for the party! They were kind enough to supply me a photo. :)

Princess Jasmine even joined in the fun, as you can see she is thrilled! LOL

And a Happy Happy from me too! Sorry I'm such a slacker & didn't get your card there on time! Love ya girl!!!

Everyone head over & wish Chan a Happy Birthday!

What a MESS!

Well, I've been super busy at work... not a lot of free time to keep up with everyone like I want to... and not enough time to do the fun stuff that I want to do. But I did get a couple of dishcloths done. This is another Victorian Labyrinth cloth & a Mitered dishcloth.

And while I was on the porch taking photos of the cloths, this little guy came to visit the bird feeder. Well, I guess you could call it a bird/squirrel feeder since both use it. He comes most every day for a visit & a snack. I've got another photo of him that I'll save for Wednesday. :)And I thought that since the squirrel had been on the feeder, maybe I needed to put some more birdseed in there... here is where the MESS comes in. This is what happens when you are carrying your bird seed bucket through the house & your seed bucket is dry rotted & the handle breaks off! UGH!I sure hope the birds don't mind a little cat hair in their food! The squirrel didn't seem to mind. LOL

It's the little things...

Sometimes it's the little things that mean the most in life.... the little things that family & friends do for you, little things that let you know that someone out there cares & is thinking of you....

I've had some little & some not so little packages arrive this week. And boy did I need some cheer. It was a hectic week at work last week & weekend, I've been overworked, overstressed & overtired. The housework has gone by the wayside & the mess is starting to get on my last nerves.... I'm sure you've all been there before.

It was so nice to see those packages, they made me smile. And I really needed it! So a HUGE thank you goes out to all of my friends who have been thinking of me & letting me know that you care!!!

First, let me show you the awesome Swapper's Choice Dishcloth Swap package that I got from Dawn. (Those are Ravelry links... what? You aren't on Ravelry? Why the heck not? LOL)
Dawn sent 2 gorgeous dishcloths in happy colors, an adorable sheepy notebook & note card, 2 skeins of elann.com Sonata cotton yarn, a cool biodegradable sponge, and a beautiful handmade quilted project bag! Thank you so much Dawn! I love everything you sent, & it means a lot that you put so much time & thought into everything!!

Here are the great little cloths & some lovely yarn that I got from Betty at Sheeps of Egyptian Cotton. Betty's cloths are crocheted from her own handspun cotton yarn, they are super soft. And you really have to see her handspun cotton yarn in person to really appreciate it. It's the most amazing hand spinning that I've ever seen! If I didn't know better I'd swear it was a commercially made yarn, just better & softer than all the other commercial stuff. :)And check out this little cutie! He's a Pocket Sheep from Elizabeth at Sheepshape. He's smaller than that business card there & just cute as a button!!! I know I don't "need" them, but dang, I just want a whole collection of the little guys! LOLAnd I was actually feeling a little creative on Sunday, the one day I had off last week... I ended up with Octopi. Silly little guys with their big eyeballs. Honestly, how could they not make you smile? :) These guys are listed in my store of course.... I have also started a few other new critters but they aren't ready to share just yet.I hope everyone is has a great week! May your friends & family make you smile too! :)

Phatfiber box - June

I got my June Phatfiber box! There were a lot of goodies in there!! I love everything, I just wish I had enough $ to head over to everyone's shop to snag up full size items. :) Here is a list of everything in the box with links, if you see something you like head on over to their shop & pick one up for yourself. Trust me, this is some quality stuff!Here we have the goodie package... It included a Sandy Bracelet pattern from Katherine Vaughn Designs, coupons from Designs by Tami, Knit it Up, 4 Stitch Me Knot, Natchwoolie, Woolie Bullie, a Sock Club notice from Serendipitous Ewe, and a business card from Farmgirl Chic.Jessie from Phatfiber included this cute little message in a bottle with treasure map. I got these cute fish & octopus patterns. The fish is from Octopi Crafts, the octopus from Miss Becca Designs. Gorgeous superwash merino/silk/firestar fiber from Corgi Hill Farm. A fluffy soft wool batt from Dawning Dreams.Seaglass superwash wool yarn from Flying Wright Farms.Deep Blue Sea Black Blue Face wool fiber from Gale's Art.Some fiber curls from Goat Goat Sheep.A lovely mini bun of mixed spinning fiber from H.A.Y. Some pretty superwash sock yarn from Holiday Yarns.Soft Mercer's Pier spinning fiber from Into The Whirled.Awesome Periwinkle silk top w/noil fiber from Mad Angel Creations.Lovely superwash merino/alpaca/nylon yarn from Moonlight and Laughter.Incredibly soft Blue Hawaii silk milk & bamboo fiber from Natchwoolie. Adorable stitch markers from (RuLe OuT): fIBer AdDicTiOn.Squishy soft mohair/bamboo/superwash wool/glitz from Silver Sun Alpacas.Another super soft Oceana falklands wool roving sample from Smoky Mountain Fibers.This gorgous sample is from Sneaky Pig Yarns.A pretty freshwater pearl infinity ring stitch marker from The Twice Sheared Sheep.And last but not least, some great superwash merino fiber samples from Twisted Fiber.
If you are interested in getting your own Phatfiber box or possibly contributing check out the Phatfiber site or etsy store.

Alpacas... finally

I now have alpaca stitch markers in my etsy store. I've known for a while now that I needed to do some alpacas, I just couldn't seem to make myself do them. Just didn't have the alpaca mojo going... but I finally got some!Hope everyone is having a good week!

I'll leave you with a photo for WoW (I know, Jazzy & I have been really slack here lately where Whiskers on Wednesday are concerned). This is where I found the Princess Jasmine when I came home from work yesterday.... obviously hiding. LOL

Yardwork...

Lots of yard work happened this weekend. But worth the effort! We had a big thunderstorm this afternoon, which we've been having every evening for about 6 days now. They've been great for the yard. I went outside & took some photos after the sun came back out....We cleaned off the patio, needed it really bad. Even though it's so hot out there in the full sun we never use it. One day we will have this screened in! :) The rosebush on the right has been there for about 9 years & it's just HUGE. I cut it back this weekend because all the pretty peach blooms had been spent. It will bloom again in about a month. I bought it as a hybrid tea rose but I believe that died & it came back from the root stock. If I'm not mistaken it's a climbing rose, it gets taller than me, heck this year I think it was about 6 foot before I trimmed it back this weekend! And on the left is my new yellow rose bush that I finally got planted today. Along with a few vinca. The hubby mowed the yard while I put out new pine needles....These poor daisys didn't fare so well during the thunderstorm, got a little beaten down. But the one's below still look happy. I couldn't resist a closeup with the water still on them.

Here is a photo of one of the last of the magnolia blooms. At least one that I can reach. The tree is really large now, just gorgeous! Even though the leaves falling drives me nuts. And here is my gorgeous purple/blue hydrangea bush. Isn't it just beautiful?! I'm not sure why the pinker bush beside it didn't bloom this year...I think this beauty of a bush is my absolute favorite! The bloom balls are just huge & they will last for a while in a vase if I want to cut a few & bring them inside....We also heard from our recruit this weekend too, we got 2 letters on one day! He is doing good, eating lots & working hard. I'm so proud of him! I've done the bootcamp thing & I know it's really hard on him, but he's got such a great attitude towards it. :)

Hope everyone had a great weekend!!

What Kind of Sheep Are You?

I saw this quiz on Jennifer's blog & thought it looked like a fun one to do... According to the quiz I'm a Finn.

Finns resilient nature makes them practical and straight-forward, a quality these mediumwools balance with curiosity and a zest for life. Fastidious in personal appearance and reliable, Finns stay true to their flock and make loyal friends.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Got Worms?

I now have silly Silk Worms in my store now... don't worry, they won't eat your silk yarn! LOL

Here is what a real silk worm looks like. Ok, so mine is not nearly as detailed as the real thing, and maybe just a bit on the silly side, but I think they are much cuter! :)

While I have a few sets to sell in my etsy store, I originally made these for Kata. She is gonna include them in her yarn club shipments! How cool is that?! I believe all of the club shipments sold out this time, which is awesome for her. Hopefully she will be having more in the near future if anyone is interested.

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On the homefront, we got a form letter from our Recruit today. It wasn't a "letter" from him, but he did sign it, so we know he was safe & sound at that time. :) At least we can now write him letters! There will be one in the mail box first thing in the morning!!

Hope everyone is having a good week!!

Leaving the nest...

I know that I've posted about this before.... but today it came true....

The hubby & I are now the proud parents of a United States Marine. Or will be once he graduates boot camp. Our USMC Recruit left this afternoon on a bus headed for Paris Island, SC.

There were some tears on our part, he was excited & a bit nervous being the first time he's left home. He's all grown up now. We are very proud of him, but we're gonna miss him terribly!! I have a few cards, but I think I need to stop somewhere & purchase myself some real stationary for all the letter writing I'm gonna be doing over the summer. And believe me, he will appreciate the letters even though he won't have much time for writing them back. I still remember how wonderful it was to get letters from family & friends when I was in his position...

Now if I can just figure out what to do with myself this evening.... I'm feeling a bit at loose ends at the moment. I don't much feel like knitting or reading or napping. Nervous energy I suppose.

Hope everyone has a good week this week!!

UPDATE! - I heard from our recruit just a short time ago. It was about 10 seconds of him reading/yelling the script they gave him. He is there safe & sound. He didn't sound upset though, so that's a good sign. I'll keep my fingers crossed, say a few extra prayers & hope to get a letter from him soon...

Friends & Finished Projects

I signed up for a dishcloth swap on one of my Ravely groups & got partnered up with the ever amazing Grace.

I got my wonderful package from Grace this weekend. And what a great package!!She sent 2 wonderful cloths, 2 scrubbies, a pretty card, wonderful lip butter (tastes as good at it feels!), a funny "I'd rather be knitting" notepad, an Elephant Poo Poo paper notepad (how funny is that? Paper made from elephant poo! It's not stinky though. LOL), an adorable angel made from dish towels & a hot pad (it's a shame to undo it, so cute!), and a gorgeous handmade bracelet. Did you make that bracelet Grace? I forgot to ask you. It's just lovely!!

Thanks so much Grace, I love everything!! It was an amazing package & just made my whole weekend. :) Dontcha just love a great swap partner? And I knew that my friend Grace would be just that.


Here are a couple of my most recent finished projects. I sent these to Grace in her package.

Another couple great patterns from Harvest Moon Designs. The first one is the Sunshine in the Valleys cloth. Loved this pattern!! I can see more of these in my future.This second one is the Tiki Time cloth. I love the end result of this one too.

These cute little scrubbies were knit from acrylic yarn using the Wishy Washy Fishy Tawashi pattern. These were quick & fun to make.

We also had some of our out of town friends come in for a visit this weekend. So we spent Saturday on the bike riding around in the nice weather. Luckily we dodged any rain showers in the area. We ate a wonderful dinner at Crab Catchers restaurant, sitting on the deck by the waterway. Enjoying friends we don't see often enough, a few beers, shrimp burgers, good music, and the salty breeze coming off the waterway. Sometimes I forget what a wonderful place we live at here on the coast. Lots of laughs were shared & we got home really late. So today has been a lazy day for the most part.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!!