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Otherwise known as Friday Five but I just couldn’t get around to it on Friday — or Saturday!

1.  First and Foremost — I hope all of you in the U.S. had a great 4th of July.  We had a fun mix of people here for a cookout — our little family was scattered and we were missing one CrazyBIL (who is being Crazy in Brazil at the moment) and three of the five kids.  We were joined by family friends though, and they made it extra festive by providing party hats.  Lots of fun and laughs.

2.  Winston (sporting his new summer haircut) was here for a visit too.  Some of you have asked how Winston gets along with the resident cats.  It’s a Love/Hate relationship — Winston loves the cats, they hate him LOL.  Poor little Winston — since he’s still a puppy, he’s all over the place and he wants to play with anything that moves.  Paulkitty is mostly terrified and runs to hide.  The Scruffster is a different story though.  He has a mean hiss and he’s discovered that he can scare Winston.  So, he’s in charge and poor Winston does whatever he wants.  I think Scruff is like a grumpy old many though — he has to be mean but really wants to be nice.  Here he is, cautiously checking out that bouncing puppy who finally fell asleep.  He didn’t dare go any closer — for fear he’d have to rear up on his hind legs and let out a ferocious growl to maintain control of the house if that puppy woke up.

3.  I started crocheting a pink Happy Birthday pillowcase using this fabulous tutorial and this fabric.  Love, Love, Love!

4.  My Zinnias are looking beautiful this year.  Last year I hardly had any because of a hail storm and this year …  I’m a little disappointed again!  I’ve ended up with some dwarfy version of a zinnia.  They need spinach or something to be real zinnias!!!  Apparently third time is a charm, so I’m hopeful for next year — I’ll be more careful when picking my seeds.  They’re pretty and healthy this year though — even if they are microscopic LOL!

5.  We’ve had the most beautiful weather the last few days — unseasonably cool.  So, if you’ll excuse me, my bike is out and I’m off for a bike ride to visit MeMum and BigDaddy!

XOXO,
Anna

Yipee!  We got more snow today and it’s a winter wonderland out there.  Old Man Winter is going to go out scratching and clawing all the way.  I love that we’ve finally had a real winter this year!

Anyway, there’s been some sewing happening here.  A few years ago when we redecorated  the kitchen, I chose some fabric for the kitchen curtains.  I’d let someone talk me into doing things in red and black and gold, and while that would have been just fine, I didn’t love it.  One day, SweetiePie was here and I was whining to her that I didn’t love the new fabric (fortunately I hadn’t purchased it yet) and I thought it was possibly because there was no blue anywhere in the new plan.  SweetiePie jumped into action and in about 3.5 seconds, she found this post on the internet.  It made me start thinking and even though my walls aren’t white like those in the “model” picture, I decided that look might work for me.

I bought some fabric and then procrastinated because there were complications.  Our window is 150″ wide and the longest curtain rods are only 120″ long.  I knew I could probably custom order one, but I started thinking about alternate plans.  I finally decided I’d like a fabric covered valance.  And then I procrastinated more because I really didn’t want to build said valance.  Finally, when we had the bookcase built, it occurred to me that I could have the cabinetmaker build me a valance.  He did such a beautiful job, I hated to cover it.

So, a few weekends ago, I moved the machines up to the kitchen and started sewing.

Of course, I had some help.  Paulkitty really did try.

And he was much more helpful than Scruff who just wanted to kill himself in the plastic bag that came with the roll of fabric.  Don’t worry, no kitties were harmed in the making of these drapes.

The sewing went well and didn’t really take very long.  Even covering the valance wasn’t particularly difficult.  But, hanging it on the wall was a jumbo pain in the rear end.  Two people, a long valance, and two poor quality stud finders meant that the hanging process almost took longer than the sewing.

Anyway, I’m very pleased.  We’ve been in this house over 14 years and it finally looks like we actually live here!  Extra special thanks go to SweetiePie — without her, I’d probably be complaining about my black and red curtains to anyone who would listen.  ;-D

One last thing … Attention Stripe Lovers!  You’ve probably seen the diagonal stripes from the April Showers collection.  Bonnie and Camille’s stripes are Perfect for quilt bindings.  Not to mention any other stripey needs you might have. In case you need some and don’t already have them,  I’ve added some stacks to my little Etsy shop.

XOXO,
Anna

Hidy Ho! Just checking in to see if you’re all surviving your various winter/summer weather. It’s such an odd year, isn’t it? We got a ton more snow yesterday, and I know you’re sick of hearing it, but I love it. . Pity the poor school kids (and their mothers LOL) though — they have some serious class time to make up this year.

If you’ve been around here for awhile, you might remember that I get an Amazon gift certificate for Christmas every year and then I hoard it until the middle of the winter and then treat myself to some fun new books. I try to mix it up and this year I think I got a good mix — baking, knitting, reading, and travel. (Ooooh, no quilting, darn it!)

This year I bought:

Sarabeth’s Bakery by Sarabeth Levine.  Not really sure what drew me to this book, but I’ve had my eye on it for several years.  It looks like there are some great recipes in it.

The Model Bakery Cookbook by Karen Mitchell.  One day I saw that Dotty Cookie had made some English Muffins.  Later that day, I got an Amazon e-mail mentioning that people buy this book just for the English Muffin recipe.  English Muffins twice in one day, so I took it as a sign and this book jumped into my shopping cart.  I’m excited to try the recipe.

The Best of Lopi by Susan Mills.  I’m currently obsessed with Lopi yarn (getting ready to start a new Lopi sweater!) and this book had great reviews on Amazon.  I’m happy to say, it’s chock full of beautiful sweater patterns.  Most of them are the traditional Icelandic style, but there are several that have cables and are more “normal” sweaters.  I saw 4 or 5 sweaters that I’d love to make and that’s saying a lot!

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent.  Have any of you read this book?  Along with my Lopi obsession, I’m obsessed with Iceland — since our trip last May, I can’t stop thinking about this beautiful country.  I can’t remember where I saw this book mentioned, but it’s the story of the last woman to be executed in Iceland, set in 1829.  I’m looking forward to reading it.

A Fine Romance by Susan Branch.  If you’re a fan of Susan Branch, you probably already have this book.  In the spring of 2012, Susan and her husband went to England for 7 weeks and this is the illustrated diary of her trip.  I would love to go and spend more than a few weeks at a time in the UK, so I’m hoping to pick up a few tips.  Plus, I think it’s probably just a good, fun read.

So, that should keep me busy for awhile, don’t you think?

Oh wait.  There’s more.  I had a little naughty purchase.

I’m completely blaming Pam Kitty Morning. PKM showed this beautiful mug one morning on her blog and told us how to find it. So I searched and conveniently, it could be purchased with my Amazon gift card.   It’s the Royal Albert New Country Roses Union Jack mug and I selfishly bought the last one.  Hopefully they’ll get more in stock, ’cause I know you want one.  It’s going to be perfect for my winter reading!

Ok, I’m off — there’s reading to be done!  Have a good weekend!
XOXO,
Anna

1. Boy, oh Boy, Old Man Winter is on a Bender this year isn’t he? And I. Love. It. We’ve had our snowiest January ever and, with the exception of the first few days of the month, there was snow on the ground all month. SO much better than our usual January pattern of snow, melt, mud, rain, mud, snow, ice, melt, mud, mud, mud, dreary, dreary, dreary. We’ve survived two arctic vortexes (vortexi, vortii, just what is the plural of vortex?), so that was fun too. It was -15F on the Tuesday morning drive to work and by Thursday morning it was 15F. What a difference 30 degrees makes — I almost felt like I could leave my coat at home!

And now, in blows February, determined to ruin my fun. It’s raining out there, as we speak. Boo. Hiss. February, my least favorite month. Someone, somewhere along the way tried to cheer it up with all that Luuuv holiday stuff, but it’s just not working. Thankfully, February knows it’s limits and is a short month. I know many of you don’t like winter, so take heart — the days are getting longer and there are more fun days behind us than in front of us.

2. Knit. Knit. Knit. That’s all I’ve wanted to do this winter. Look! I made some pockets. I spent the first three weeks of January knitting away on the front and back of a sweater (which was really a front and a half after I had to rip it out several times) and then I could see that I would run short of yarn for the sleeves, so I stopped knitting for a bit. More yarn just arrived this week, so now I’m working away on the sleeves. I like to knit my sleeves and socks two at a time so I can be sure they will match, but somehow I’ve managed to get an extra row of increases in one of the sleeves. I blame it on knitting and making dinner at the same time. Mistakes. Always, humbling, mistakes.

3.  Don’t worry quilters, there’s still a bit of sewing going on around here.  I’ve been working on the tumblers, but just like the knitting, there have been set-backs.  One day I spent a few hours on the floor laying all the tumblers out in rows.  When I was almost finished, I stood up, only to find another 70 tumblers still up on the counter, which totally messed up my layout.  It’s easy to get them out of order when I’m sewing them together too.  Maybe all these mistakes are because I’m so excited that we’ve finally had a real winter and I can’t concentrate on anything else.  Yeah, that’s it.

4.I’ve had several very happy mail days this winter and I’ve been remiss in acknowledging them. Just the other day, I got a very unexpected little package from Anne. She included a sweet notebook, sheepie goodness in the form of one of her photo cards and an adorable bag with a ring to gather it closed, a piece of tartan, and a cute little scissors fob — all neatly wrapped up in the prettiest ribbon.  Her note said it was a Random Act of Kindness.  Isn’t that just the nicest thing?

Right before we went to visit TheFirstChild and SweetiePie, a fun package arrived from Berglind.  The knitting book is fabulous — there are several patterns in it that I want to make.  My next sweater pattern is in this book and the yarn has already been ordered.  Berglind also included a pretty candle (which she wrapped with a picture that I took when we were in Iceland — what a fun surprise!)  And, some Toffypops!  There were a LOT more boxes of Toffypops but SweetiePie and I ate them — we LOVE Toffypops.  I’m hoarding that last little package for my Icelandic knitting.  (And, oh shoot, I’ve just realized that I forgot to include the neatest little ring that she included to help control my yarn when I’m doing two-color work.  I’ve already put it away in my knitting bag, but I’m looking forward to using it on my next sweater!)

And last, but definitely not least was a wonderful package from Isabelle.  Isabelle and I share a love of the color blue and she sent me a beautiful blue scarf.  Isn’t it pretty?  And, she, like Anne, knows of my sheepie love (they’re so lucky to see sheep all the time in Scotland!) so she also included several sheepie accessories.

THANK YOU THANK YOU ladies — I feel so lucky to have met you all through this little blogging adventure — you’re all so sweet and thoughtful and in Wayne’s famous words “I’m not worthy!”

5. Leslie linked to an interesting article about the link between knitting and yoga.  I don’t necessarily agree with everything, but it’s an interesting read.  If you’re a knitter, you might want to try yoga.  And if you’re a yogi, you might want to try knitting.  (I’m talking to YOU SweetiePie and MyDadLovesMeBestSister!!!)

Have a good weekend!
XOXO,
Anna