I still got it

I haven't done much jewelry making lately, so when a colleague was telling me how she wanted some gaudy orange earrings to go with a teal dress she planned to wear at an upcoming wedding, I jumped at the opportunity to pull out the needlenosed jewelery pliers. Ellen helped me select the beads, and I came up with these lovelies:


specs: about two inches long overall, mostly Swarovski Crystal (multiple colors), cloisonne and metal beads, golden wire, golden earwires (unsure of specific precious metal content).

Give-Away Day Drawing Winner!

First, I want to thank everyone for your kind, encouraging comments -- it's always nice to get a little praise now and then, and it was great fun to make a gift for a total stranger.

So without further ado, I've just randomly selected a winner from the 91 commenters: number 27, michelou! Congratulations michelou, check for an email from me.

Housekeeping: while I love seeing that 91 people liked my crafties enough to ask if they could have them, for their protection, I am going to delete the comments in an effort to protect their email addresses from who-knows-what.

WIP tuesday & weekend update

On Saturday morning, Eric and I went curling again -- we love it! I am really getting serious about joining a league next season (September). I forgot the camera, but we had a great time.

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On Sunday, I made applesauce from the huge bowl of apples I had inadvertently collected....




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Eric and I got the spring veggie starts underway, converting the garden window into a... garden window....


We planted broccoli, kale, two types of lettuce, beans (from seeds we harvested from last year's crop), basil, cilantro, walla walla onions, scalions and Italian roasting peppers.



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But with the success of those things came the agony of defeat with other things. Well, not defeat exactly, but disappointment, both in quilting and in knitting.


Turns out I miscounted on the Huge Log Cabin, and I need 24 blocks, not 16. Such a silly mistake, but with a little production modification (why wasn't I chain stitching these babies before?!?) and some serious motivation in the form of other quilt projects piling up, I am already halfway through the eight additional blocks I need to be back on track...




And as for knitting, I had to frog my first sock attempt when it became clear that the sock was just too big. Smaller needles or a stich count reduction, not sure which, but I am determined to begin again! In fact, I have so enjoyed this sock attempt that I have truly had to sit on my hands to refrain from buying more sock yarn already.... ugh.


hmmm... perhaps I should have tried to modify it into a fingerless mitt before I frogged.... oh well.

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And remember the Gift Exhange I mentioned, oh-so-long-ago? I haven't forgotten it! This is my first felted bowl, which I am now embellishing with beads for one recipient....