LYS Tour 2012
Posted: May 5, 2012 Filed under: Calendar | Tags: buy local, King County, knitting, lys, made in Seattle, Puget Sound, yarn Leave a comment »Yes, the annual LYS (local yarn shop) tour is upon us again. 21 shops between Bellingham and Renton have put together a fun weekend of visiting and shopping May 17 – 20. Each has a free pattern and daily prize drawing and getting your “passport” stamped at all of them, gets you into a drawing for some generous gifts.
Nationwide buying statistics show that people are buying less at small shops and spending more of their money at the big craft stores like Michael’s, Wal-Mart and JoAnn’s. I am not affiliated with any LYS but I am committed to supporting my friends and neighbors by buying locally when possible. The Puget Sound area has lost three yarn shops this year, and I urge you to visit the ones we have and let them know how much we value them!
For those in the area, have you ever done the LYS tour?
For everyone, do you try to buy local or has that become less of a priority lately?
New Scarves
Posted: April 28, 2012 Filed under: textiles | Tags: Arts, blue, bronze, brown, Craft, DSLR, Dunthor, etsy, Fiber Arts, green, handwoven, knitting, made in Seattle, Photography, scarf, Shopping, Sony, sparkly, yarn Leave a comment »I’ve been working on my photography and got some good pix of a few scarves I made over the winter. I found a tutorial on digital photography and learned some new techniques. Well, not new techniques really, just figuring out what some of the buttons on my camera actually do 
I learned to switch between auto and macro but I can’t seem to get the background blurred sufficiently. There must be another button somewhere…
sparkly metallic and mohair yarns handwoven with long twisted fringe
lacey cowl crocheted in fine wool
loom knit variegated ribbon
Handknit chunky scarf with sparkles, ribbon, roving and fluff
Handwoven microfiber with sparkly acrylic yarns
New Jewelry: Freshly baked!
Posted: April 12, 2012 Filed under: Jewelry | Tags: art, Clay, Craft, etsy, jewelry, pendants, Polymer clay, Shopping, stones Leave a comment »I have been busy! This is last week’s batch of baking.
Now that the roof, drain, sewer and porch projects are finished I can get back to making messes in my studio! I have avoided most of the serious mess-making arts like painting, pottery and stained glass but I do love clay, polymer clay to be exact. I love how organic the polymer clay looks with my stones and how sturdy it is. The clay settings impart a completely different feel than my wire settings and provide a more massive ancient look. Most of these are available in my Etsy shop and I’ll have the rest listed soon. Hover over the picture for the titles. Click to enlarge.
Welcome Spring!
Posted: March 20, 2012 Filed under: Calendar | Tags: chocolate, easter, eggs, Ostara, Spring 2 Comments »
The Spring Equinox is the dawn of the new zodiacal year in the Northern Hemisphere. Don’t you just love the word “equinox?” I have to decide each time whether to say it with a short or long “e”. The equinoxes are the two times during the year when the dark of night and the light of day are in balance or equal. Another name for the Vernal Equinox is Ostara, from the name of a German Goddess of fertility, Oestarae. She is the deific equivalent of the Greco-Roman goddess, Aurora, the personification of the sunrise. Consider that the Sun rises in the East and her name is where East and Easter both come from. The Christian Easter date was decided by the Council of Nicaea to fall the first Sunday after the first full Moon occurring on or after the March Equinox. This effectively removed its observance from conflicts with either Ostara or Passover. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s… Groundhog day!
Posted: February 1, 2012 Filed under: Calendar | Tags: candlemas, february, groundhog Leave a comment »
Check out all the wonderful animal photos at National Geographic.com
Groundhog day is Candlemas in the old European Calendar. This is the day that Christmas or Yule decorations officially come down. Here is the full verse:
Video of Gracie’s rescue in Taiwan
Posted: January 21, 2012 Filed under: Dogstuff | Tags: gracie, rescue, taiwan, taiwan dog Leave a comment »
I just found our Gracie on the Animal Rescue Team’s website. She is the puppy named Cake. The video shows the rescue workers catching the litter on the beach. I am so grateful to ARTT in Taiwan and to Salty Dog Rescue in Seattle for getting these dogs across the ocean and into homes.
A new recipe – Shredded Pork
Posted: January 4, 2012 Filed under: Recipes | Tags: crockpot, pork, recipe Leave a comment »I noticed that it has been a long time since I posted a recipe. I generally make it when pork is on sale but it will work with beef or chicken. Don’t fret the large quantity this makes because it freezes well. Read the rest of this entry »
On beauty…
Posted: December 27, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: hand axe, paleo Leave a comment »Have you seen this?
Winter Solstice 2011
Posted: December 21, 2011 Filed under: Calendar | Tags: Capricorn, holiday Leave a comment »
The Winter Solstice occurs on December 22nd this year.
At the Solstice, the Sun enters the part of the space-time continuum belonging to Capricorn. This is the official first day of Winter in the Northern Hemisphere. The word Solstice is derived from the Latin sol, or “Sun,” and stitium, or “stoppage.” At the Solstice, the Sun appears to both rise and set at the same spot on the horizon. On or around June 21, the Summer Solstice, the North Pole is tilted most directly Sunward. Those of us in the Northern Hemisphere experience this as the longest day and shortest night of the year. Read the rest of this entry »
