snippets ♥

Hello lovelies!

Here's a peek into my life lately.

There's something so pretty about the simplicity of pale pink carnations.

 
Bucky has recently discovered mirrors, and he is obsessed with his own reflection.
He gazes adoringly and occasionally gives the handsome cat in the mirror a coy pet with his paw.

 

Sunset views are one of my (admittedly many) favorite things about my apartment.

Can you believe it's already almost September?!  We're so close to autumn-- my favorite season!  I'm so ready for sweaters and hot tea (which I drink all year, but it'll be extra-cozy when it gets chilly outside) and pumpkins and apples and eventually snow!  I usually don't get excited for winter-- in general I'd rather go from fall straight through to spring, with maybe two weeks of winter.  But my apartment is going to be so much fun to decorate for Christmas that I'm looking forward to it!  I want to hang twinkly lights and watch the claymation Rudolph movie and I have the perfect spot for a tree in my living room.  There will be mistletoe, and my doorways will be festooned with  garlands-- it is going to be a seriously festive event.  I have a sneaking suspicion I'm going to become one of those people who puts up their holiday decorations the day after Thanksgiving.

Have a beautiful day!

♥

rainy beach day

Happy Friday!

I went to the beach a few weekends ago.  I like rainy days at the shore-- the beach is quiet and empty and everything seems a little soft around the edges.

        

Have a wonderful weekend!

♥

tiny owl knits swap: received

Hello lovelies!

I hope you're having a wonderful weekend.

Today I'd like to share with you what I received in the Tiny Owl Knits Common Room Swap on Ravelry.  I was very, very spoiled by my sender, who goes by SoEffie on Ravelry.

 

Here's a group shot of everything that was in the swap package I received!  Isn't the tissue paper and ribbon adorable?

 

This is right after I unwrapped everything-- it was so exciting!   The tea is delicious, and the little cream-colored case is perfect for storing my cable needles.

 

This owl card was filled with a sweet message from Effie.  I love the beautiful patterns on the owl's wings!  I'm going to frame this and add it to the gallery-wall I'm working on in my front hallway.

 

The beautiful green flowered project bag in the lower right corner of the group photo is reversible-- the inside fabric has this charming owl print, I just love it!

 

I am in awe of Effie's embroidery skills!  This little owl pouch is so precious.  I haven't decided what to put in it yet-- maybe a little lavender sachet to keep my knitted items nicely scented?

 

Effie had filled the owlie pouch with these beautiful hand-made stitch markers.  They're so delicate and pretty!

 

Isn't this owl stationery set so sweet?  It was so thoughtful of Effie to send a desk set.  I love all things stationery-related!

 

Effie also included this beautiful yarn.  It's Araucania Ruca Multi, a DK weight yarn made of sugar cane in the prettiest pink, pale green, teal, violet, and gray.

Last but certainly not least are these two lovely leaf washcloths!  They're so soft and cushy.

Thank you so much, Effie!  Everything in the package was so lovingly crafted.  I love it all!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, everyone!

♥

tiny owl knits swap: sent

Hi, and happy Friday!

I recently participated in a swap on Ravelry, in the Tiny Owl Knits group.  A quick explanation of how Ravelry swaps work: One person is the swap organizer, and they post a questionnaire on the message board for the group.  Anyone who wants to participate answers the questionnaire, and then the swap organizer matches up participants.  Sometimes it's a straight-forward exchange, where you send goodies to the same person who is going to send goodies to you, and sometimes it's more of a round-robin situation, when you send a package to one person and receive a package from someone else.  The Tiny Owl Knits Common Room Swap was the latter kind, and it was so much fun!  Tiny Owl Knits is the designer of the Beekeeper's Quilt, which I've been knitting for about a year now, and since most of her patterns are whimsical and foresty, I tried to stay with that feeling for the swap package I put together.

Today I'd like to share the knitted items that I sent to my lovely swap recipient, Robin.

 

Cotton Leaf Washcloths-- these were very quick to knit, and two of them used up less than one skein of Sugar and Cream dishcloth cotton yarn.  I packaged these with a bar of lavender-scented L'Occitane soap and two of the beehive candles I shared in my last post, like a mini-spa in a box.

I also knitted the Damson Shawl by Ysolda Teague in the very, very soft Anzula Cloud.  It's a merino/cashmere/nylon yarn and it truly does live up to its name-- when you put the shawl on, the knitted fabric settles gently around you, just like a puffy knitted cloud.  I definitely plan on making a Damson Shawl for myself, too.  It has a unique, fluttery shape when it's worn that gives it a capelet sort of silhouette.  The pattern was perfect train-knitting.  It wasn't too complicated to knit on in half-hour segments, but it was interesting enough to keep my mind from drifting off during my commute.

I also sent along a hexipuff, since Robin is also knitting the Beekeeper's Quilt, and 10 mini-skeins of yarn for hexipuffs.  Each mini-skein was 30 yards long, so hopefully she will get at least two hexipuffs out of each one, maybe three, depending on her knitting gauge.  

Tomorrow I'll share the amazing package that I received from my wonderful knitting-fairy Effie!

♥