Knitting. I've Tried It. It Wasn't Pretty.

I have tried knitting. I bought a pattern on Etsy that said, "Easy! Great for beginners!" But it wasn't easy. And it wasn't for beginners.

Or, at least not for this beginner.

I wrote about it on Cluck and Tweet. If you check out that post you will see that this is as far as I got:

That might be the reason I'm so impressed with knitters like this month's Etsybloggers Featured Blogger: KnittingDragonflies who has not one, but two shops on Etsy.

1. DizzyDragonflies which has delicious hand-dyed yarn

And 2. KnittingDragonflies.

But even more than that is Vicki's blog which is a wealth of tutorials and links to tutorials and yarn-y eye candy.

KnittingDragonflies.blogspot.com. I'll be following Vicki's progression as she spins her own yarn.

I actually used to know how to do this myself since back in high school, when a friend-of-the-family borrowed our antique spinning wheel to spin her dog hair in to yarn. Vicki, feel free to contact me for tips.

Or not.

Spring. The Myth. The Legend.

I love fall. I love winter. Okay, let me qualify that. I love winter in December. And January. And maybe in February. But come March, when the calendar says "SPRING" I expect to see some green stuff peeking its way out of the earth. And I don't even mind the smell of mud, except when I have to wipe the dogs' paws off. Again. But spring doesn't always arrive to Northern Michigan in a timely fashion. Or at all. So I've been wishfully thinking of Spring in the items I've been putting in my Etsy shop.

Flowery beads. Great for anyone who loves flowers but is allergic. Unless you're allergic to glass, then all bets are off:

And my own jewelry that reeks of Spring:

So, it may be wishful thinking. But I'm ready for it.

Or a vacation.

One of my very favorite vacations. Ever.

I love to travel. And perhaps more than the trip itself, I love the planning of the trip. I spend much of the winter months (okay, Northern Michigan winter months, which can include October through May) planning where I would go if I could. Or how much it would cost to have a second home in the Turks and Caicos. Um, yeah, that would be too much.

I do a lot of checking on VRBO and Luxury Link and Small Luxury Hotels of the World. Hey, I've got good taste.

But one of the best vacations I've ever been on was on a small boat with 9 people I didn't know in the rain and cold of Alaska.

(It's the one in the middle)

My mother-in-law gifted us a trip to the Inside Passage of Alaska from Juneau to Sitka. Before we left our summer had consisted of rain and cold and then more rain. And a little more cold for good measure. When I looked on the weather reports that it would rain and be cold in Alaska in August I was a bit disappointed, but geared up to go and see and do everything.

It was grey, but magical. And because of all the rain we saw twenty times the waterfalls than the crew had seen the week before. Because of the rain, we awoke to thousands of moon jellyfish mating in the cove where we spent the night. Don't worry. It was very G-rated.

This trip happened to be with The Boat Company, a wonderful group of people trying to save the Tongass forest of Southeast Alaska and promote conservation. Were money no object, I would take that trip every year of my life. After spending the winter in the Caribbean, of course.

Still Thinking about Halloween and the Homemade Costumes Yet To Be Made and MadeByMelissa on Etsy

I realize that one of the things in the title of this post is not like the others. At least at first glance. But my fellow Etsyblogger, Made by Melissa, has a great shop full of Halloween items that might just make your holiday that much more festive.

Like this Happy Skull Halloween Charm Necklace.

Or these cute Giggly Ghouls Ghostly Charm Earrings, which are much more my cowardly Halloween speed.

Melissa, however, has many skills and apparently not an idle moment. You can find whimsical jewelry in her shop:

Beautiful, crocheted babies' blankets:

and my personal favorite, Penny the Pink Elephant:

With her mad skills, I'll bet Melissa could have Jimmie's Toxic Waste costume done in a matter of minutes.

Make sure to check out Melissa's blog as well: madebymelissa.blogspot.com

Thinking Halloween

I'm not much for scary. Never have been. I think my imagination is too big and out of control for my rational mind to reign in. My imagination is like a Pamplona bull.

I never go to scary movies. I went to The Silence of the Lambs and had to leave the movie theatre. Then I checked my closets and ceilings (because of the elevator scene) and under my bed for years. Years, I tell you.

I even make my husband change the channel for previews of scary movies.

I do love watching my kids dress up for Halloween, however, especially in the last few years when the store-bought Bionicle costume has made way for the thunderstorm or bush or present costumes. I'll be writing more about that on Cluck and Tweet later this week. I guarantee you won't want to miss that. There will be mystery and intrigue and bows.

Anyhoo, I have no big plans for Halloween. I've been thinking about it since late August when Jimmie mentioned that I should make some monsters for my Etsy shop. This was a self-serving request because the monsters that don't make the cut go to him and his sister.

But he had a great idea which I ran with and now I have these guys hanging around my shop.

They are so not scary.

Just how I like it.

EtsyBloggers Featured Seller

I am determined to be a poster child for the EstyBlogger street team. One of the great side-effects of this team is its Featured Seller component which exposes all of us to a new EtsyBlogger each month. This month's Featured Seller is... Memories for Life Scrapbooks.

I'm a blank book junkie. Unfortunately most of the blank books stay blank or, for example, have no theme. Therefore I have my Alaska journal filled with what we did in Alaska along with ideas for beads and jewelry. And my jewelry journal has entries on what I ate that day.

Anyhoo, Memories for Life Scrapbooks has great notebooks like the one at the top of this post, and amazing custom albums:

This is so darn cute it almost makes me want to have another child. And name her Scout.

Almost.