Silk Garden Mitts

I knit these as a Christmas gift for my sister. She never reads my blog so no worries about spoiling the surprise.

Pattern: Fingerless Mitts

Yarn: Noro Silk Garden

Embellishments: Silk ribbon, Turquoise Jasper, Rose Quartz and Amethyst.

Fashion-spiration

I discovered fashion blogs a while ago and what fun I've had. These gals are very clever and oh so inspirational, putting together combinations of color and pattern that I've never dreamed of. They have encouraged me to put a bit more thought behind what I wear on a daily basis.

A friend made this necklace for me using hand crafted beads she bought while on vacation in the Caribbean and some interesting seed pods. I hadn't worn it because I didn't think I could do her handiwork justice. Armed with my newly budded fashion sense, I put together this outfit. Nothing worthy of the fashion section, but I'm pretty proud of my effort.
Olive green shorts (in need of ironing) from JCrew a few years back.

Marine blue tank from JCrew also a few years back. This is their favorite tee and it's one of my favorites. I own quite a few.

Faded black cardi from Liz Claiborn many, many years back.

Not shown is the pair of matte gold ballet flats that I bought on sale from Garnet Hill last year.

Fall Dressing

Halloween is fun. Dressing up as an alter ego or wanna-be dream can be quite a blast. But it is only one day so when I decorate my home I dress it for Fall. I love Fall and adding a bit of Fall inspired decor carries me from October through Thanksgiving.

OK, the jack-o-lantern is a bit of a stretch but it is surrounded by lots of Fall leaves :)

Variety Shop

Looking for sparkling jewelry, a toasty scarf or maybe a bit of vintage style?
Made by Melissa's shop offers a large variety of items at super prices.

Jewelry made with glass, crystal and charms.
Colorful blankets and scarves.
And even some Retro/Vintage.

Visit Melissa's Blog for more info about her and her shop.

Studio Peek

Etsy Bloggers are sharing photos of their studios this month.

With bits and pieces of my various projects migrating to almost every room, my whole house seems to be my studio. I mainly work at my kitchen table, not terribly glamorous but it has great light and a wonderful view of my backyard.


I have a variety of storage containers.


I'm particularly fond of these.

I like the orderly little compartments and the fact that I can see what's inside without opening the lid.

This case is very efficient at storing a number of larger items. The multi-level tiers give me a lot of storage in a small space which is really great when I go to workshops.


I'm pretty low tech too and have been 'green' well before it was the 'in' thing to be.
I re-use all sorts of containers from plastic bags to cardboard boxes.

This has been my long time favorite way to keep my supplies semi-organized. The emphasis on semi, because while I'd love to be super organized I never quite seem to get there.

How do do like to organize your supplies/workspace. I'd love to hear your tips and tricks.

Blue Bird

Damask blue and green cardstock mounted on acid free paper and made into a set of three all occasion cards, this is just one of the lovely handmade items you will find at DesignsbyVanessa.

She also makes sweet jewelry items at great affordable prices.

And she has a fun, colorful blog where she features many great Etsy artists. Stop by and take a look.

River of Gold

AKA Vinyasa by Susan Pandorf.

I've been lusting after Susan's patterns for a while but being fairly new to lace knitting, and being prone to mistake making, I hesitated trying one of her patterns.

Vinyasa is a very easy pattern. Her directions are clear and the pattern is easily memorized. Of course that doesn't mean I haven't made any mistakes nor did I have to frog it and start all over, twice. But that's just me.

I would like it if she would include the pattern repeat in the specs. Otherwise, it's perfection.

BTW Vinyasa is my very favorite yoga style to practice and to teach.

Enchilada Casserole - Picky Eater Approved

Love this casserole from the FatFreeVegan site. It was just the right amount of sweet and spicy and was so easy to make. The hardest part was opening all of the cans.

I tweaked the recipe just a bit.

1) Added some salsa to the refried beans to make them easier to spread.

2)Used a can of salt free diced tomatoes because I forgot to buy fresh ones.

3)Used 3 cloves of garlic.

4)Subbed green olives for the black

5)Added cocoa powder and cinnamon to the enchilada sauce recipe. I didn't measure but I think I added about 2 Tbsp of the cocoa and 1/2 tsp of the cinnamon.

I served it with honey ginger marinated chicken breasts. Because there be meat eaters among us.

Tiger Lily

Artisan lampwork beads crafted onto sterling silver that has been hand coiled, formed and hammered into a one-of-a-kind bangle.

I love this latest piece so much I am tempted to keep it for myself.

Fall Into Color

Rich and luscious, soft and smokey I am so excited about the colors that are being shown for the fall and winter season. Normally I don't pay a lot of attention to the current trend but I really love the color combination and overall fashion feel that I'm seeing in the latest magazines and catalogs.

So with these colors in mind I've begun creating new pieces for the fall and holiday season.

This bangle features delightful artisan lampwork beads in shades of plum with coral accents. I've added dangles of amethyst, chalcedony and a sweet little sterling silver flower to echo the pattern in the focal bead. I'm sorry you can't see the little flower in this photo. It's next to the chalcedony nugget.


I fell in love with these beads the moment I saw them. They have such subtle depth of color and pattern, so interesting to look at. I've combined them with sterling silver and ceramic beads to make this one-of-a-kind bangle.


I don't know what it is about Fall, maybe it's the whole 'back to school' phenomenon, but I'm feeling particularly fresh with new inspiration.

Memory Maker

Memories for Life creates the most amazing albums and scrapbooks.


Here is an example of a custom design she offers to hold those special vacation/ destination memories. How clever is that! And so very personal.


And this cute 'Flip Flop' album is quite an attention grabber. It comes in several different designs so you can match the album to a number of different occasions.

She has a great blog too, where you can see more about her and her designs.

Handmade Goodness

Bags and bowls, hair and home accessories that's what you'll find at Miesmama's shop.


I was drawn to this sweet little pincushion. A pretty fabric and a cute flower button, this would be a lovely gift for those crafty sewing types.

And she has a great crafty blog. It's filled with photos and inspiration.

July Joy

Christmas in July. I loved the idea when I first heard it, all the fun of the Christmas season without all of the pressure.

I love shopping, especially on Etsy. Here are a few of my many favorites.


A pretty vintage dress from Estatesale.


An elegant silk lined bag from Redrubyrose.

I also enjoy baking up sweet little treats.

I've been eyeing this violet macaroon recipe for a while.

If you love to bake or just love to drool over luscious photos of yummy desserts, take a look at Tartelette's blog. Her photo taking skills are enviable and her recipes will make you weep.

She also sells her gorgeous photos in her Etsy shop.

Whisper Cardi

Finished my 'Whisper Cardigan'. It was an easy, straightforward knit, with no seaming!!! I like it so much I may have to knit another.

I really love the DIC 'Starry' yarn. It was soft to knit with, didn't split and I love how the subtle color variation adds texture and interest.


I embellished it with a lovely turquoise and sterling pin made by me and a sweet little vintage enameled pin.

Cuteness Overload

If you love kitties or animals in general you've got to visit this site.

Super cute photos and they do wonderful work too.

Possibilities Aplenty

What am I doing with this yarn that I purchased from the Loopy Ewe a while ago?











I've got a good start on the 'Whisper Cardigan' from IK Spring '09.












Potentially perfect for the 'Pansy Golightly', the 'Lace Ribbon Scarf' from Knitty.

I'm a bit stumped on how to use 'Butter Peeps'. Maybe a pattern from one of the etsy shops I have in my favs.












I love this rose lariat from Timaryart's shop.
















I've really been wanting to try one of Caffaknitted's patterns.
What do you think?

Hello Sunshine

This is just one of the sweet hand crocheted items you will find in LazyTCrochet's shop. She also makes scarves, caplets and even jewelry. Colorful accessories all and sure to brighten your Summer wardrobe.

She also has a fun blog, which among other features has some great looking recipes.

Rolling in Dough

Who knew?!
I don't know why I'm always surprised that various things have a National Day honoring them.
Any way you want to spell it, the first Friday of June is designated as National Donut Day. This happened way back in 1938 as a fundraiser for the Chicago Salvation Army.

Any-hoo. How to celebrate?



With these yummy looking delights from The Fat Vegan?












Or with this super adorable (calorie free) print from The Black Apple?


Thanks to TulipsTalking for alerting me to this special day. I may have missed it otherwise.

Roses and Moonstones and Pearls, Oh My!

June means roses, lots of roses around here.






























I have them blooming in my yard.







And we have a local rose festival.
It's a lovely, low key event that features 13 acres of bed after bed of gorgeous roses. I wish I had room to plant one of each.

Wonderful vendors of plant and nature related items, great food (Mozart's is my fav), educational offerings and entertainment round out the fun. Best of all, admission is FREE!
Can you tell I love going to this annual event?

Pearls and Moonstones are June's designated stones. I don't know who, when or why these particular stones were chosen, a Google search found nothing. I would love the answers, so please leave a comment if you know.



I made these earrings using a variety of pearls and moonstone. The large 'cornflake' pearls are so luscious I could eat them with a spoon.

A Little Loopy

I recently discovered a new on-line yarn shop, The Loopy Ewe. They have great customer service and amazingly gorgeous yarn. I could not believe how fast their shipping was.

The Dream in Color hand dyed yarns caught my eye, so I just had to buy a few skeins. I really wanted a whole bunch of skeins, such yummy colors, I had a hard time choosing.

The red is DIC Starry in 'Lipstick Lava'.
The yellow is Starry in 'Butter Peeps'.
The lavender/blue is Smooshy in 'Pansy GoLightly'.

The names alone make me want one of each.


The 'Loopy Elves' even included a little gift.

Lovely Yellow

A mosaic created for the current Project Spectrum, Looking East. It features both FO's (finished objects) and objects of inspiration.

I've really had a lot of fun playing with the color yellow, using it in combination with a variety of different colors.

In the earrings the pale lemon color of the quartz dazzles when paired with either the rosey pink rubies and tourmalines or the blue/violet quartz.

I went for a bit more drama in the bangle, pairing the honey amber focal bead with shades of black and cream.

The pendant with it's soft golden hue is paired with sapphires in shades of silver gray, gold and pale peach; green garnets and honey colored citrine.

How lovely yellow is. It stands for the sun. ~ Vincent Van Gogh

Words Worth

There are thousands of thoughts lying within a man that he does not know till he takes up the pen and writes. ~William Makepeace Thackeray

This is the inspiration behind Create a Thought's shop.

Super colorful journals, pins, rings and cards carry words of encouragement, inspiration and fun to the lucky recipient.


Her blog is just as fun and colorful as her shop.