lulubeans

thank you!

thanks so much to everyone who commented on my last post!  your kind words really mean so much to me.
this pregnancy has been amazing so far.  (i can say this now that i am out of the insane nausea and out of control exhaustion of the first three months.  all of that added an extra layer of challenge to the big renegade adventure!)  but hurray for the second trimester!   it's totally crazy how all this physical stuff completely reverse itself, pretty much overnight.  you can go from feeling like complete and utter crap one day to feeling  this absolute, blissful feeling of wellness humming through every cell of your being the next. hormones are so cool.

i want to show you some yarn that melissa recently sent me.   i am seriously in love with it.
isn't it gorgeous? 

i need to think of something cool to make with it.  definitely something for myself.

i have been (finally!) processing some of the fleece i bought last september.  it is washing up really nicely and looks so lovely dyed:

oh! also, local knitters- if you are in the market for some cotton yarn, hit the salvation army on warren ave.

i don't do a lot of knitting with cotton, but at $1.99 for a giant spool, i see some cotton tank top type things in my future. it's all stuff from silk city fibers. they had A TON of yarn left on saturday when i was there, in really nice colors, and a fair amount of ribbon and novelty yarn as well.

Snow squalls bad; swapping good

I am trying hard to not complain about the cold and snow and ice and darkness this year.  But seeing more snow out there after a day of fairly high temps and sweet, sweet sunshine is totally bumming me out.  However!  I am a very lucky girl because every once in a while people mail me things that are so beautiful they almost make me cry (in a good way).  I feel exceptionally lucky because this event has happened, not once, but twice in the past week.  First, it was this fun batt from Melissa: 

 

And then today it was this pile of happy from Carrie:

 

 

Thanks again, swap buddies!  You've both helped me feel like this long haul through February is a little less daunting.  xoxo

happiness is...

... surprise goodies in the mail from linda.

 

that batt there is like a warm + lofty cloud straight out of some magical, heavenly place.  i am very much excited about spinning it tonight.

(N ran off with her treats from linda before i could take a picture.   she was so very impressed by the collection of teeny things.   she's much like me in her love of little odds and ends.) 

linda also sent me some wool boucle to ply yarn with.   i had to dive right in and start plying as soon as i came home from work last night. 

 

i plied

 

and i plied

 

and i plied some more. 

this morning i woke up to a giant heap o' fiber-y goodness that seemed to have appeared as if by magic.

 

thank you linda!!

like a long distance hug

    amazing mail day yesterday, and i am feeling so, so lucky!    first, a surprise package from my friend nesting.emily. i know i have gushed here about how sublimely excellent emily's work is,  and i am now here to report that she gives the most freakin' amazing surprise crafty package on earth. 

color themed, no less. emily, did you hear natasha and me squealing with delight all the way up there in canada??

just look at how awesome this woman is:

pink and brown themed goodies for natasha!  the fabric is printed with giant slices of cake and milkshake glasses- too perfect for my little sweet-obsessed miss.

and then for me:

so much goodness! see that lovely handknit felted bowl?  chock full of goodies:

 

there are more  photos of my fabulous bounty over on my flickr page.  once again, thank you so much, sweet emily. 

  i also got some lovely mail of the electronic variety yesterday.  (it's really sad that i just had to pause and think for a second about what the "e" stands for, isn't it?)  check out this incredible handbag that clare in the u.k. knit using my aurora handspun:

um, wow. when i make yarn,  i generally don't have a clue what it's future is,   and when i see something like this,  my first thought is holy crap!  i actually made the thing that let this person make this  incredibly awesome thing! wow! 
i guess it's kind of a weird (and cool!) thing to make spend most of your creative time making something for other people to use to make something.  how's that for inarticulate?   
i have thought about it a bunch, but i'm still failing to put it into words.   it's kind of overwhelming in a way.   anyway,  you can see a couple other views of clare's awesomeness on my flickr as well.

i have no problem with corniness and i will let you know that yesterday's gifts are genuinely boosting my faith in the goodness of humanity.  this is saying a good deal, especially considering that i sat through the majority of these creeps last night. 

thank you so much, my sweet friends.  you rock. xoxo

ooompf-less, but with lovely mail

         I seem to have temporarily misplaced the bounce in my crafty step.    It's a little disheartening.    My wheel is (once again) in need of a little TLC, and I haven't tended to it yet.      Other real life things have been demanding attention over the past few days:  little gurl, out-of-the-house-job, etc.    Oh, and sleep.     Maybe it is the shift in seasons that is making my body crave sleep like a maniac a person who actually sometimes needs 7-8 hrs of slumber per night and whose eyelids start to get pretty darn heavy during that long, cozy nighttime reading of the bedtime fairy tales.

    Honestly, being in this slump is hard for me.     I keep trying to tell myself that respite here and there is a natural thing, and part of the process,  but really,  I am feeling sort of wilted and anxious for this to change.    Trying to just go with it, to not fight it, to redirect my energy to other things (like housework, eek) is tough.

I do want to report that I received some very fabulous mail yesterday:

 

Thank you so much, Emily!!

Miss N thanks you also.  She adores the barrettes, and the excellent paper as well.

 

And how fab are these little magnets Emily made?

 

So fabulous!    I love them so much.    Thanks again for everything, Emily.    Your package is on its way very soon, I promise!

oh, lucky lucky mail day!

First, there was the surprise back-to-school package from my mom, for the little:

I get my yard saling genes from my mom, and the sweater was something she found sometime this summer and, doting and incredibly thoughtful grandma that she is, held onto it until school began.  Now, I have to say, it makes me a little weepy inside, knowing that someone knit this perfect little cardigan, only for it to be tossed in someone's yard sale pile!  It fits N perfectly though, and she wore to school today with rainbow striped tights, a floral print halter top dress, blue maryjanes, and pink sparkly faery wings.  Perfection.

Now, on to package number two:

I was one of lucky dogs who responded in time to get a piece of Eireann's studio, and oh!   I feel so, so lucky!   So many amazing and delightful and inspiring little things!    I thought my favorites were what's pictured here:

However, I was awfully hasty in my efforts to photograph everything before a certain little someone got her grubby little mitts on the stash  (more on this in a minute) and now I have to say that there are some fabric pieces in there that are simply the bee's knees.    I will have to show you some pictures tomorrow.    Natasha loved a few pieces so much that they went to bed with her tonight.     She has asked me to make "patches on special things with holes" with a few specific patches. 

Oh, I had also placed a little order From Eireann's lovely store (and you should too- everything at the fabulous oh bara is currently 50% off!!) and that arrived today as well!

Very excellent new unders and lovely vintage buttons for me, and a Cram Cream washcloth (mostly) for the little.  A day of abundance!  Thank you again for everything, Eireann!  You too, Mom!