And Now, The Day After

You're over the turkey (well, ok, but maybe not the sides), so instead of a black Friday, make it a green week end. Do not see the inside of a big box store sales rack today; get out in the fresh air. Take a walk. Deck your halls. Hand craft a gift. Do a happy dance just because. 

Then, support your favorite small businesses on Saturday and do a little online cart emptying on Monday. 

May your days indeed be merry and bright.

UPDATE, late 11/27: The Ravelry gift-a-long 25% savings on designated patterns in my store is now over, but from Saturday, November 28 – the end of Monday, November 30, (PST), everything in my Ravelry store is 25% off, no coupon code needed, to celebrate Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday.  After Monday, no more sales in 2015, so get to it while the getting is good.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy U.S. Thanksgiving

Follow the joy

It's a Finished Project!

Happy Fee-Fi(ber)-F.O. Friday, everyone - and guess what? I've actually completed a thing not for publication. Woohoo!

This is a thank you Etched Ice Cowl for the model who was kind enough to model it, as well as a few other things, late last year. When we were done with the shoot and she told me which design she wanted for her thank you, I pulled some old swatches in appropriate weight yarns and had her start feeling them for softness. She stopped pretty quickly when she got to a swatch using Drops Baby Alpaca Silk. I do admit to loving this stuff - it's pretty much like yarn crack - even though several of the colors are less than inspired, I'd still like to have a boatload in the entire colorway set. She'll receive this thank you in a few weeks (and of course it's late!), and I hope she likes it. I think it turned out rather well, even if I do say so myself.

And now for the third installment of my 4-part art journal from last year's LYS tour. This is the day that was all about water. I've also played around in Photoshop and think I've come up with a way to float the typed copy over my handwritten in such a way that you should be able to read it on the artwork as opposed to separate copy underneath. Let's hope this works the way I've planned! Incidentally, if you want to see the traffic I journal about on this day, check out the photos I took along the way and blogged about here last September.

Just a little over a week until the Leather, Lace, Grit & Grace blog tour begins! Get your blog tour shoes on, people, and be prepared to visit six wonderful blogs and read all about the book. Who knows, you might win one and then you can join the Ravelry a-long and make something from it with us. Whoot!

It is Hard to Believe ...

See the Cascade 220 Aran, all lined up in a row ...

... that it is already the Labor Day weekend here in the U.S.! The unofficial (but somehow very official) end of summer. School starts next week (if it hasn't already started); the evening light doesn't last nearly as long, and soon the leaves will be turning.

Did you get everything you wanted to accomplish done this summer? Did you even think about things you wanted to accomplish before summer started? I did get things done this summer, although most of them I can't discuss just yet. 

For me, a confirmed autumn-loving gal, September is somehow the true beginning of my year. The next two months (September and October) are truly my favorites in terms of weather. And don't get me started on those great fall leaves we'll start to see very soon. The bounty in the fields and on our tables is something to which we'll definitely give thanks - in October in Canada; November in the U.S.

Yet, I want to take this moment to thank all those unseen persons who have made my summer of making (and making, and making and making) truly memorable: all the yarn dyers (both indie and corporate, assuming they're actual people and not machines), fiber farmers, yarn spinners, yarn shippers, yarn marketing and social media people, and all those yarny solopreneurs who get up every day and give it their very best so we can craft with such wonderfully beautiful yarn. What a treat you've all given me this summer. I hope every other yarnista feels the same way.

Now don't forget to head on over to Wisdom Begins in Wonder and check out just how Andrea is marking the end of her summer on the farm. And for those of you who want a sneak peek at some brand-spanking new crochet designs, iLikeCrochet.com's October issue will go live on Monday. I've got a few things in this edition, which I'll be able to speak more about next week.

Do have a great holiday weekend if you're here in the U.S. - don't labor too much, alright? 

Unless it involves the barbeque - then labor away.

Someone Paid it Forward

Way back in April I blogged about a paying-it-forward scheme that a fellow Pacific Northwest blogger, Michele over at pdxknitterati had posted. I filled the third and final slot on her list.

Well, guess what? I received my hand-made gift last week! A lovely bracelet made by Michele:

Isn't it purty? Purple, clear and multicolored beads strung on a crochet chain - how simply elegant.

Thanks so much for the smile Michele! This was a very pleasant surprise in my mail box.