Hello everyone! I’m still here!

It looks like I’ve seriously disappeared from the blog the last few weeks, so sorry about that!

I’ve been very busy with lots of different things. Do you want to see what’s been keeping me busy?

Since we started the CSA, I’ve been cooking what feels like 20 times more than before. Now I spend a good part of a few of my evenings cooking delicious recipes so as not to waste any of our precious vegetables. The last two recipes I made were this ratatouille and and this orzo and kale recipe.

The orzo and kale is definitely a winner and I will make it again next time I get kale in my CSA bag. The ratatouille I haven’t tasted yet but it definitely smelled and looked very good. It uses tons of vegetables so is very handy to empty out the fridge!

I’ve been working on box bags to send to the Vermont Sheep and Wool festival with yarn4socks in 2 weeks. That particular batch is almost done and will be handed over tonight. This is what my sewing table looked like yesterday morning.

I’ve added a bunch of made to order box bags to the shop as it was starting to look very bare. I will be adding more throughout the week as well.

I’ve ordered up new business cards for me. The graphic designer I worked with did a fantastic job and am very pleased with the final results.

I’ve also been doing some sewing for my quilting bee. Here are the 2 wonky stars blocks I made for Amanda. I really loved sewing those stars and I can see a wonky stars quilt in my future.

Last but not least, I have been knitting as well. I am currently making progress on my Lu. It’s going fairly fast and am a little further ahead than this photo shows. I’ve now put the sleeve cap stitches on a holder and am working on the underarm.

Of course, a little a bit of this, plus another little bit of that, with a lot of this all adds up. But it’s all fun, so I’m quite happy.

Time to get back to work!

Etsy Friday

I’ve been buying lots of fabrics lately, mostly from etsy. I’ve gotten some great stuff from several vendors and am really pleased with what I’ve gotten.

If you’re not interested in fabrics, you’ll just have to scroll down to the bottom where I’ll show you a picture of my latest sock in progress!

Here are my latest purchases:

From Bee Square Fabrics:

A fat quarter bundle with fabrics from Joel Dewberry’s Aviary collection and from Kaffe Fassett’s Paperweight collection. The lower picture is 2 fat quarters from Alexander Henry’s Aviary collection.

I’ve always loved the woodgrain print fabrics and decided that I needed one in every color! The brown and the yellow woodgrain come from Caty Lou Quilts and the others are from Craft-O-Rama.

I also like some whimsy! A mushroom Japanese print by Fabric Supply who also gave these cuties. Lower down you’ll see a Russian Dolls and Gnomes fabrics by Heather Ross from Starlit Nest.

And, finally, my latest obsession, Tina Givens Zazu Collection also provided by Starlit Nest.

There’s more here and here .

I really can’t wait for my new sewing machine to get here so that I can start sewing all these beauties!

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For those who’ve read this far to see some knitting, thank you. As promised here is my latest sock in progress.

For this sock I am using the Simply Cables pattern from the Sockamania KAL. The yarn I am using is Farmhouse Fannie’s Fingering a new sock yarn coming soon to yarn4socks. This yarn is really beautiful. It’s a merino/nylon blend but it feels silky and is not “hairy” like some other merino/nylon blend I’ve used. I’m really loving knitting with it and it’s coming out really good in this pattern. I’ve got one repeat left to do before I can start the heel, maybe I’ll even have it done before the end of the month!

Etsy Friday

Following what I believe were 2 sleepless nights and some time spent on etsy (what a dangerous thing to do), 2 packages made their way to my post office.

After the first sleepless night one package came from Starlit Nest and had an assortment of fat quarters from Heather Bailey, Joel Dewberry and Alexander Henry.

After the second sleepless night I received another package, this one from Lucky Kaeru Fabric & Supplies. I had been wanting to get my hands on some of the Damask from Etsuko Furuya’s new collection and bought half a yard of it. While I was there I got my hands on a yard of Alexander Henry’s pears and apples fabric and a set of 3 fat quarters of Robert Kaufman’s owl fabric.

Both shipments were super fast and I received them 2 days I think after purchase. I would definitely buy from them again. Of course, I don’t know enough about these fabrics to know if what I paid was right but it seemed like the everyone selling fabric on etsy has about the same prices.

I also purchased a few weeks ago from my future LYS (also fabric store) a 1 yard each of 3 Amy Butler fabrics.

I’m really looking forward to be able to set up a sewing machine more permanently in my new apartment. It will definitely make it easier for me to sew and I’ll be able to spend more time at it and use up some of these beautiful fabrics I have. Also, I have to rationalize my dream of purchasing one of these beauties!

See you all on the flip side of the move!

Etsy Friday

A few months ago, I decided that I needed a new wallet. I was tired of my old large and raggedy looking wallet I’ve been using the last 6 or 7 years.

I wanted to buy my new one on Etsy so I searched and searched until I found the perfect one. There was one that I kept going back to, the Girl’s Best Friend Wallet from Jenna Lou. I also really liked the wristlet wallets from Blissful.

Finally, a few weeks ago I found this wallet:

It’s from Sugar Cane. The front pocket, where I keep my bills, has 2 additional pockets for cards. In the back there is a zippered pocket for change. I really liked the print and the size is perfect for what I use all the time.

I still needed room for all the additional cards one uses here and there. Like my grocery store cards, my bookstore and pharmacy cards, etc. So I bought this little zippered pouch for them:

Although the fabric isn’t the same as the other one, I liked that it also had mushrooms and had the same type of fun print. This pouch came from What Sew Ever.

There’s really a lot of fun wallets and pouches available on etsy, I do wish I needed more than one! : )

Etsy Friday and contest winners

Today is my 200th post… We have winners!

Please congratulate Jen C and Kristen (Jen C appears to be blogless), they got today’s date right! Since there were 2 right answers I decided to create another prize so that I could reward both. So Jen C and Kristen, if you still read this blog and do so before you receive my email, please send me your mailing addy so I can send you your prizes! (my email address is in the left sidebar)

One of you will win the Vesper Astro and the other will win the Yarn Pirate Calamity. Congratulations to both of you!

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On today’s Etsy Friday I will show you my latest purchases.

I ordered this cute little card for my Monkey Sock Swap pal from The Paper Crown. I thought the monkeys swinging in the branches were just adorable. You can’t really tell in the picture but I had them write “To my Monkey Sock Swap Pal!” in the front. You can see it better here. I also received these 2 cute little pins and a flower sticker.

I also ordered a set of lettered stitch markers from Hide and Sheep in preparation of getting the book “New Pathways for Sock Knitting” by Cat Bordhi.

The stitch markers were safely packaged in the little tin. Now I guess I just have to buy the book and I’ll be ready to go! : )

I made another purchase (non-etsy) that I’d like to share with you. A few weeks ago I found this blog: Good Natured Ribbing where multiple bloggers post. One of them, Beth just opened an online store with her husband, Knitzi. They currently sell 2 products: Knitzis and bags. If you knit your socks on double pointed needles, or use them for anything else, you really gotta check Knitzi out. They came up with a very pretty way of traveling with your sock in progress. Since I don’t use dpns I went and bought one of their bags!

It’s the perfect size for sock in progress and I’ve been enjoying using it already. If you hadn’t heard from them yet I’d definitely go check them out!