Envelope, Moleskine, Blanket, and Yarn Things

1. Mother's Day

Last week(ish) was Mother's Day, so during that weekend I sneaked a clever card around to my siblings and grabbed a gift card for my mom to JoAnn Fabric & Crafts. She's been enviously asking about everything I've brought back from the craft store for the past couple of months because she's trying to pay off her very last credit card and doesn't have the cash for spontaneous fun things. We've got plenty of planned fun things going on, but I thought she could use a little cash to blow on some yarn that catches her fancy should she happen to wander into JoAnn's while she's out getting things done.

And I made the card a little fancy envelope.






2. Commission


Just officially sold my first commissioned embroidered moleskine. HYDRA. It was a challenge, but I'm pleased with how it turned out.



3. Double Seed Stitch Blanket


Pattern: Double Seed Stitch Blanket
Needles: US 13 circulars
Yarn: Lion Brand, Pound of Love - White


I don't plan on actually using this as a blanket, but as a backdrop for product and blog photos. I have a white sheet that I've been using, but I'm finding it impossible to iron out the wrinkles, even after it's just been washed.


Also, trouble makers.



4. Niddy Noddy and Drop Spindle

I've been spinning some new yarns for the shop lately, so I've invested in an adjustable niddy noddy from Fiber Artist Supply Co.

Dandy Sir Cephalopod

Pattern: Dandy Sir Cephalopod
Needle: US 5 - 3.75 mm
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease Mink Brown (and some natural colored Lion Brand stuff that I can't find the label for)


He's got a wooden mustache. :D

Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman

Fragile Things : Short Fictions and Wonders
by Neil Gaiman

If you’ve had a chance to look through this blog at all, it’s clear to you that I am a fan of Neil Gaiman’s writing. It’ll be no surprise to you that I’ve added his short story collection Fragile Things to my library.

Fragile Things, for me, was a meander through the familiar and the strange. Most of this was due to the nature of Gaiman’s storytelling; he excels at making the mundane mysterious and the fantastical commonplace. But this read-through doubled that feeling because I had read a few of these stories on Gaiman’s website and listened to a few of these stories as audio recordings.

So, stories like A Study in Emerald, Harlequin Valentine. Instructions, and How to Talk to Girls at Parties were familiar and it was a joy to see them again. But I also had a great time discovering new stories like October in the Chair, The Problem with Susan, Sunbird, and Pages from a Journal Found in a Shoebox Left in a Greyhound Bus Somewhere Between Tulsa, Oklahoma and Louisville, Kentucky was also fantastic. Each story is distinct from its fellows and still distinctly Gaiman.

If you are a fan of Gaiman’s work, you need to add this to your collection, and if you’re unfamiliar, this is a great sampler of what the different kinds of writing and worlds that you can lose yourself in..