Latest News – Page 7

I Love Wool!

June 10, 2016Creativity, Crochet, Latest News4 Comments

Wool. Just the word is fun. Many of my Aussie friends refer to all yarn as wool. Though they have a wide range of yarns of various fibers available to them. It’s just what they call yarn. They have a lot of fun and sometimes confusing words for things, which gives us endless entertainment figuring out the translations. For most of us fiber arts types living in the USA though, wool is what comes off of sheep.

Margie's Herd — Margie’s Herd – Four Adults and 5 little lambs (one is hiding)

Yesterday I got a fun email from my next door neighbor Margie. She had some wool trimmings from her little herd of sheep that she wondered if I would like.

Um, YES!

This afternoon my oldest and I walked over to her house. She had a bag of trimmings for me. I’ll likely be using them in some of my needle-felting projects. First I’ll be doing a bit of cleaning though. I love all the colors of wool that came off her adult sheep and hope that some of these trimmings will be usable as outer layers on my needle-felted critters.

The rest of my day I’ve been playing with an idea for a new crochet design. I’m working with some yarn that I purchased from Newton Yarn Country at the Knit & Crochet Show in Spring 2009. I don’t even know if they still have this yarn in stock.

My yarn stash is a bit out of control, so I’ve decided I need to work up some of it. I am hoping I have enough to make a lovely lightweight sweater for myself. I’m experimenting with my favorite stitch the V-stitch. But this time I’m working it stacked and using different increase ratios.

Tomorrow I am headed over to Estes Park to check out the Estes Park Wool Market. I’ll be meeting my friend and fellow designer, Brenda Bourg, over there. Not sure if I’ll be taking my family with me. They generally get bored with it all long before I’m ready to call it a day. I’m telling myself that I won’t be buying yarn this time, will see if I can hold out against all the temptations though.

Tis the Season for Fiber Events

June 7, 2016Classes, Crochet, Health and Self Care, Latest NewsLeave a Comment

Ah summer-time! The best thing to me about summer is that there will be fiber events all over my region. This coming weekend will be the Estes Park Wool Market and September 9th & 10th is the Scotts Bluff Valley Fiber Arts Fair in Nebraska.

I’ll be teaching 3 crochet classes and one injury prevention class at the Scotts Bluff Valley Fiber Arts Fair. Registration is now open at the event website. You can enroll in classes online or download a PDF registration form to use to enroll by mail.

Friday, September 9th I’ll be teaching “The Perfect Fit Crocheted Hat” class in the morning.

I’ll be teaching “The Art and Science of Crochet Spirals”class Friday afternoon.

Saturday, September 10th I’ll be teaching my “Playing with Triangles Shawl” class in the morning.

I’ll be teaching my “Don’t Let Your Hobby Hurt” class Saturday afternoon.

You can click on any of the class names above to go straight to the class information pages on the Scotts Bluff Valley Fiber Arts Fair website. Or click here to go to the home page for their website.

If you don’t live in the area you might consider coming out to this event. Scotts Bluff is a beautiful area in Nebraska and there is a lot to do at the Fiber Fair as well as opportunities to take a fun tour of the Brown Sheep Company’s Yarn Mill.

Spring Fever

May 17, 2016Inspiration, Latest NewsLeave a Comment

This has been a really weird spring weather-wise. Snow in the spring on my mountain isn’t that unusual, and heavy snow amounts even. But usually it is warmer. I’m beginning to feel like a yo-yo going back and forth with nearly summer temperatures and then returning to freezing winter the following day.

It might be that I’m getting older, but this past winter was really challenging for me in the health area. I’ve had persistant colds, stomach flu and just over-all sinus unpleasantness. Things got really interesting 2 weeks ago right before I left on my trip to visit Jan.

I have ridiculously sensitive skin and often deal with hives on my face and shoulders. A common trigger for these is accidentally ingesting gluten. Gluten is used in more foods that you would initially realize, of particular note are candies and chocolates.

I had consumed too many Easter chocolates after Spring break and at the end of April I had a bout of hives on the right-side of my face. Fortunately it cleared up after a week. Then the Wednesday before I left for Jan’s I started getting another break-out. But this time it was more severe.

My first Saturday at Jan’s I was a mess with it. Itchy and very uncomfortable. That patch finally began to heal up and a new patch appeared on my forehead and along the left-side of my face. Nearly my whole face looked swollen and red, not attractive and not comfortable either. The Sunday before I was to fly back home to Colorado more hives began to appear on my shoulders.

Early in my visit with Jan I began to suspect that I was experiencing Shingles. There wasn’t much I could do while in New Jersey so I spent my first full day back home on the phone getting a doctor’s appointment. After looking at the newest crop of sores on me the doctor told me this wasn’t Shingles. Unfortunately it appears to be a bit of a mystery as to what it is. I’m not showing any of the symptoms associated with the usual culprits.

My doctor prescribed a short course of steroids and recommended taking over-the-counter antihistamines to help with the itch. I’m also sticking with my routine of cold compresses on the affected areas and being hyper-vigilant about what I eat. Fingers crossed that I’ll be all healed up in a week or so.

Meanwhile this has really cut into my crochet and design schedule. Not to mention it was the reason I didn’t have any photos of me from my recent trip, I didn’t want to scare all my loyal readers.

I’ll leave you today with some more photos from my Longwood Garden trip.

The massive conservatory there is filled with beautiful flowers and everywhere I looked was something to intrigue the eye. I really loved the “childrens” area that had whimsical ironwork thru-out. This dragon railing looked almost alive.

And this little bird fountain was very endearing.

Jan’s sister loves the Lace Hydrangeas, and I was really pleased with this photo of them.

But where I really went crazy was the section filled with Orchids. So many colors and shapes, loads of inspiration for crochet motifs in the future.

Pretty Pretty Flowers

May 14, 2016Celebrating, Creativity, Latest NewsLeave a Comment

Having way too much fun on my trip still, so the blog is getting a bit neglected. Tuesday and Wednesday of this week Jan and I drove down to the Philadelphia area to stay a couple nights with her sister and brother-in-law. The plan was to visit Winterthur and Longwood Gardens the 2 days we were down there.

Beautiful White Azalea bloom patterned with bright pink. — Beautiful White Azalea bloom patterned with bright pink from the Winterthur Gardens.

According to the weather dudes those were supposed to be our best days for outdoor outings. Unfortunately the weather dudes screwed up. Tuesday morning driving down it was spitting rain at us most of the way. Jan’s sister suggested when we got there that we do Winterthur that day, since lots of it was indoors touring the house.

Winterthur was quite lovely. A beautiful big house full of collections surrounded by a wonderful park-like estate. When we arrived at the visitor’s center we rode in the “Garden Tram” to the house and had a informative short tour of the garden with a very nice guide.

Jan loves Azaleas and our timing for this visit was perfect as they were at their peak. It did continue to rain, mostly it was only spitting and a bit gray. We still enjoyed walking around the gardens near the house and touring the collections in the house.

Steps down from the house into the garden.

Walking down the path into the reflecting pool garden.

The Reflecting Pool Seahorse decoration.

Back of the house from the reflecting pool.

Most of the good photographs I got that day were close-ups because the lighting really didn’t lend itself to distant outdoor shots.

White Snoballs and Purple Azaleas. These special azaleas are named "Winterthur". — White Snoballs and Purple Azaleas. These special azaleas are named “Winterthur”.

One tool I was using a lot in my photography this trip was the “guidelines” on my smart phone’s camera view. Most smart phones have this option on them and I’ve found it really handy for helping me line up and compose my shots. My phone is the Samsung Note 2. I found the “guidelines” under the “settings” in the camera view.

Icelandic poppies and Violas around a fountain at Longwood Garden.

The next day dawned a bit gray still, but we headed out to Longwood Gardens. These gardens are incredible and even with the overcast weather that never quite left us, it was an amazing day. I managed to take over 200 photos there, of course some of that was because I take multiple shots with slight differences hoping to get a shot I like.

Banks of flowers along the path in Longwood Garden.

Despite most of my visit this week being marked by wet weather I’ve really enjoyed it. It is such a change to be somewhere so lush and green, compared to my mountain top. The tall deciduous trees and rampant green undergrowth is quite different from the evergreen forest that surrounds my home on the mountain.

I’ll share more of my Longwood Garden photos next week. I also hope to have a fun new animation video finished for you by then.

Jan & Andee’s NY Adventures

May 11, 2016May 11, 2016Celebrating, Latest NewsLeave a Comment

The last time I came out to visit Jan we had planned to take the train into New York City to go to the Lion Brand Yarn Studio and Kinokuniya Book store. Unfortunately, Jan injured her foot and was in no condition to deal with the amount of walking that would be involved. Instead, the lovely Mary Beth Temple drove us into the city and even got us to our various destinations.

This trip Jan and I wanted to try out our original plan of taking the train from New Jersey to NYC Penn Station. Jan had done a lot of research and after a brief reccie the day before, we were ready to catch our train to the city Monday morning after most of the commuters had already taken their trains.

Our day’s itinerary was focused on going to MoMA to see the Degas exhibit. We would walk from Penn Station to the museum taking a route that passed by a number of iconic NYC sights like the Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center. So today’s post is all about photos.

I had headed Jan and I in the wrong direction from Penn Station but Jan got me straightened out. Clearly I’m good at geometry not geography. But I did get a decent shot of one of the entrances to Madison Square Garden.

My first bucket list item was getting a photo of the Empire State Building. I got lots, but this is the one I’ll share with you today.

Next we were headed north for MoMA, with plans to stop for lunch at a little restaurant that Jan had researched. Next photo stop was the NYC Public Library. I love the Lions on either side of the front steps.

Then Jan spotted the Chrysler Building so I got a quick photo, that was a “bonus” sight and completely serendipitous.

After we purchased our lunch it was off to MoMA. No photo of the entrance cause I was too excited. Here is a photo of one of the Degas paintings. If you are in the area get yourself to MoMA to see this wonderful and inspiring exhibit.

I got presents for the boys at the gift shop.

And goodies for me (of course).

Next we headed back to the train station. Stopping by Rockefeller Center on the way.

Had to get a photo of the NBC Peacock door pull.

Loved this gigantic button and needle in the Garment District.

More later.

Springtime Retreat

May 7, 2016July 18, 2019Crochet, Crochet Design, Latest News, Online5 Comments

I’m a little tardy getting my weekend post up because I ran away from home yesterday. Well, not really. I’m writing you from lovely New Jersey at Jan’s house. Had quite the travel adventures getting here, but eventually it all worked out. Of course that means I arrived at Jan’s door at 2 a.m. today.

As you all know, Jan and I love to get together and crochet, so this is sort of our own little springtime retreat. Jan took time off from work and the 2 of us will be hanging out with hooks and yarn. We are also going to do a few fun day trips, heading into NYC to visit MoMA on Monday and maybe will get to see some of our NY friends while there.

The later part of next week is predicted to be fairly rainy, so we will be kicking back with some crochet projects and enjoying each other’s company. Of my 2 suitcases I checked, one is filled with crochet projects and yarn, so I’m all set.

In the meantime, I finished my experiments with the Classic Elite Yarn’s “Santorini” yarn. It did grow up to become a cowl, but I changed the width of my fabric in order to get a bit more length from the 2 balls of yarn I had. I like the look of the finished project and it is a nice size for a little added warmth in transitional weather.

I wore it when traveling yesterday and it was handy at 1 a.m. waiting outdoors for the car service to pick me up. On the plane and in the airport I wore the cowl as an infinity scarf and when I needed warmth I doubled it.

For those of you that would like to try out this design I have a pattern for you.

Springtime Cowl

Skill – Beginner

Stitches you need to know: Chain (ch), Double Crochet (dc), Single Crochet (sc)

Finished size: Approximately 5” wide x 38” around

Special Stitches

Materials

Yarn: Classic Elite Yarns “Santorini”; 58% Vicose/42% Cotton, 50 grams/125 yards. (sample was made with 2 balls of color #2156)

Hook: I-9/5.5mm

4 stitch markers; 2 in each color

Blunt yarn needle

Gauge:

15 rows and 16 stitches in pattern = 4”

Pattern Notes

First row is worked in the back bump or “bar” of each chain st so that base of row will be Vs like the top of stitches.

When reach the last row fasten off with a long tail, this tail will be used to sew the final row stitches to the base of the first row of stitches.

Twisting the strip of fabric 180 degrees turns your project into a moebius, if you want you can skip the twist and just sew the ends together to create a ring. Another option is to weave in the ends and make your strip of fabric into a short scarf.

Project used almost all the yarn in the balls, so if you don’t get gauge you may need to shorten your foundation or the number of rows you work.

Instructions

Row 1: Ch 21, working in back bumps, sc in 2^nd ch from hook, (dc next st, sc next st) 9 times, dc in last ch. (10 sc, 10 dc)

Row 2: Ch 1, turn, sc in first st, (dc next st, sc next st) 9 times, dc in last st. (10 sc, 10 dc)

Rows 3 – 138: Repeat Row 2. Fasten off with long tail.

Lay out strip of fabric horizontally and mark top corners with one color of stitch marker, then mark bottom corners with other color of stitch marker.

Fold strip so ends are close together with matching colors of stitch markers, twist top end so that stitch markers are mis-matched.

Using ending tail whip stitch tops of Row 138 stitches to bottom of Row 1.

Weave in all loose tails.

Gently block if desired.

Wishing all of you a very lovely spring weekend and a Happy Mother’s Day.

The Joys of Designing

April 30, 2016April 30, 2016Crochet, Latest News3 Comments

The end of this week has been a bit disappointing crochet-wise. I had hoped to have a new shawl design all worked out, but instead I ended up making 3 different swatches I was disappointed in and then ripping them out.

My usual designing method is to start with drawing out my stitch pattern and shaping ideas on paper in symbols. Then sit down with yarn and crochet to try out the idea and to determine gauge. Most of the time this works very well, though as this week proves, not always.

This weekend is shaping up to be another snowy one, though not as heavy as what we got 2 weeks ago. I was really wishing I had a crochet project ready to go. Unfortunately I am in one of those odd periods with my crochet work that all I had in my work bag was swatching projects.

I decided that this was a good time to work with some of the neglected balls of yarn that have been sitting in my stash too long. I have 2 balls of this Classic Elite “Santorini” that I had purchased at the Longmont Yarn Shoppe last year. It’s a very interesting yarn that changes texture and color thru-out its length. Sometimes it has the body of cotton and other times the slinky fluidity of rayon.

I’ve tried a couple of stitch patterns with it in the past and realized that the yarn needs a super simple stitch pattern to really shine. The colors don’t show up with any regularity and the resulting fabric has a rather random appearance that doesn’t look good with a defined lace pattern like shells, V-stitches or pineapples.

I tried rows of single crochet worked in the front loop but wasn’t pleased with it. After a little experimenting I decided on one of my other favorite stitches the “Up and Down” stitch (that’s what it is called in Betty Barnden’s “Crochet Stitch Bible”). This is alternating single and double crochets on the first row, then working doubles in the singles and singles in the doubles on the following rows. I start my rows a bit differently than Betty shows them in her book.

I like to begin each row with a single crochet and end with a double crochet. At the start of my second row (and each following row) I chain 1, turn and work a single crochet in the last double from the previous row. This creates a nice clean edge on the rows that I can crochet off of or can just leave plain.

I’m going to keep going on this swatch to use up my yarn and see how much fabric I create, I’m thinking this might become a cowl. Now I have a project to work on while it continues to snow outside.

Being Lucky

February 16, 2016Humor, Latest News2 Comments

Today went a bit differently than planned. I got up and after the normal morning tasks loaded the kids and my gear in the car to take them to school. As many of you know, I live on a mountain, so driving the boys to school can take 30-45 minutes or occasionally longer.

The weather was beautiful the past couple of days so there really wasn’t much to deal with as far as snow and ice and we made it down the mountain in good time. I dropped off both boys and then headed back up the mountain to my friend Val’s house.

Val and I get together most Tuesday mornings to work on crochet projects and visit. Today’s plan was to block a couple of new designs that I have due soon. Val has a nice big workspace, so she had volunteered her floor for this.

Unfortunately the universe had different plans for me. I was just about half way up the first big hill heading up into the mountains when my car suddenly began to seriously misbehave. Seemed like every warning light that is on my dash lit up. There was also a horrible burning rubber smell, not something one wants to smell while driving a vehicle.

I wasn’t sure what was happening, but I knew I needed to get off the road quickly and safely. So I pulled off and shut the car off.

Next, I checked my phone to see if I had any cel service where I was. I had a very low signal, but was able to call Val to let her know I was having car difficulties and wouldn’t be able to make it up to her house. Next I tried to call my husband, but the phone wouldn’t let me call out. Instead I got a message that said, “Emergency calls only.”

Things didn’t seem dire enough to call 9-1-1 though, so I got back in the car to look for my roadside assistance info. When I tried the phone again I was able to call my husband, then the roadside folks.

It took awhile to get them all the info they needed to send a tow vehicle to me, and we got cut off in the middle of the call. Fortunately my husband was able to text me, so I wasn’t completely on my own. Though I was wondering how in the world I was going to make all the appointments I had planned for the afternoon.

I decided to try texting my contacts that the appointments were with, and happily it worked. So that was one worry off my mind, now I just needed to get the roadside assistance folks moving.

By this time my engine had cooled down enough I decided to look under the hood to see if there was any way to drive the car back down the hill. But I discovered that the problem was the belt had broken and tangled in the engine. No way was I going to attempt driving my massive car without power-steering.

I sat there for a while and had a talk with myself about how lucky I was despite this inconvenience.

Point 1) I was super lucky that the belt hadn’t broken when I was driving at speed. Going uphill at 30 mph was a much better and safer situation than on the highway at 55 or 65 mph.

Point 2) At least I had some cel service, I could have been a lot further along the mountain or even in the canyon when this happened.

Point 3) The boys were already at school before the car pooped out.

Point 4) Neither of my afternoon appointments were life and death, and I would definitely have something resolved by the time the boys needed to be picked up from school.

Point 5) I was only about 3-4 miles from my favorite car repair place, so if I had to, I could walk there.

Then the phone rang, it was the roadside assistance folks calling me back. They had been trying for a while, but kept going to Voice mail because of the poor signal. Luckily they had kept trying. We got a tow truck lined up and they told me I would get a text once the tow company was on its way.

The text came thru, but it was only a confirmation and a URL to monitor progress. There definitely wasn’t any internet access where I was. So I texted the URL info to Himself. He was able to check on the status and let me know what was happening. Text service was patchy, but working a bit better than voice.

Finally all I had left to do was wait for the tow service to arrive. I am always prepared for a wait though, I had 3 different crochet projects along with me (as well as my computer). I crocheted and worked on pattern editing while I waited. Now you knew there would be crochet somewhere in this story. Unfortunately I can’t show you what I was crocheting on since it is all hush-hush until it is published.

About the time I was starting to worry that the tow service driver had gotten lost he pulled up. In just a few minutes he had my car all trussed up like an oversized turkey and we made the short drive to Super Rupair.

The folks at Super Rupair were super as always. They got me set up with a loaner car. Again I was lucky, they were having a slow day and would be able to fix everything by the end of the day. I took the loaner car and headed out to my appointments. While waiting for my second appointment I had a conversation with a goose.

After I was all finished with my appointments I picked up my boys after school without any problem. I took the boys to Subway for an early dinner, then we went to Super Rupair to get my car. They had just finished up with it and 10 minutes later we were on the road home.

Things I learnt from today’s adventure:

Always carry my hiking boots in the back of the car, even if the weather is unusually warm and I don’t think I’ll need them. I would have been more up for a hike down to the garage if I had my boots with me instead of wearing loafers.

It’s good to have snacks with me in the car, just in case.

And confirmation of my rule about always having a crochet project along with me. I would have been much more stressed if I didn’t have my crochet to focus on.

I hope all my readers are having a good week so far and this story will be a reminder to you than no matter what, there is always a bit of luck.

Saying Good-bye

January 13, 2016January 13, 2016In Memory, Latest News3 Comments

I’m a bit behind today, in fact I’m behind by a day from my normal blogging schedule. I just got back from the TNNA Winter Trade Show in San Diego. Walked in the door last night at 9 p.m. I’ll tell you all about TNNA and the fun stuff I did there in my Friday post.

Today is about my darling dog Tango. The last few weeks he has been going downhill fast, but he waited for me to get back from this trip. When I checked on him last night I knew he was ready to leave us, even if it was so hard to let him go.

My husband had told me on the way home from the airport that he had been unable to persuade Tango to eat anything for the past 2 days and it was getting harder and harder to get him up to walk outside for bathroom needs.

Tango came to us thru the Rocky Mountain Lab Rescue (RMLR). At that time we were fostering for RMLR. We had limited access to our home because of the road damages on our canyon caused by the historic floods in September 2013, so we hadn’t been fostering for a while at the time. But we had agreed to take him temporarily while his regular foster was out of the state for Thanksgiving.

He was a mess when we met him. He had mostly recovered from recent surgery on his knee for ACL issues and on his side where a large cancerous tumor had been removed. His hair was shaved over 1/3 of his body. He was 6 1/2 years old by the vet’s estimate. And his RMLR name was Fango. But he was so very sweet and had the most beautiful eyes. I fell in love with him pretty much at first sight.

We were only supposed to foster him for 6 days, then he was going to go back to his first foster until a forever home was found for him. But the original fosters had a family emergency that meant they couldn’t take him back. We were happy to take over as fosters, because by that time we were reluctant to let him go.

He was so lovey and sweet, our other dog even got along with him. But we didn’t want to adopt him because he was so big. At 104 pounds that was a lot of dog in our little house. We got very few calls from approved adopters interested in him. The calls we did get were discouraged by his medical history combined with his age.

Once the winter holiday break rolled around we were all in love with him. The boys really wanted to keep him. I had bought him a nice big bed to sleep on and he was the constant companion of our youngest son. By Christmas Eve day we decided we were going to keep him for ourselves.

We filed the adoption papers with RMLR and re-named him Tango. We picked that name because he tended to “tap-dance” when ever it was dinner-time or we were giving out treats.

He was fully recovered from his surgeries by early February and he really became part of the family. He played with our other dog, Kenna, and loved to go for walks. When I was working at my desk he would come put his head in my lap for some ear rubs, then lay down beside my chair while I was at the computer.

Every day we reminded ourselves that our time with him might be limited. So we made sure to give him lots of love and hugs. When we adopted him I wasn’t sure if we would even have him a full year after everything he had been thru. Amazingly enough he was with us for over 2 years before this morning’s sad events.

We kept the boys home from school this morning and our wonderful vet, Lisa Cass, came to the house to help us say goodbye. Right now my eyes are very sore from crying but I know we gave him a happy life for the 2 years he was with us. He gave us so much love and joy. He will be missed, but we don’t regret having adopted an old dog.

Tomorrow I will be back into my daily routine, but today is about remembering one of the sweetest dogs that has been part of our family.

2016 Begins

January 1, 2016February 4, 2020Humor, Latest News1 Comment

Hope all my readers have had a good start to 2016. I have had a very interesting end to 2015.

When I posted before the holidays I had a brilliant plan, which of course means that said plan would be quickly and completely demolished. Isn’t there a proverb about “if you want to make the Divine laugh, make a plan.”? Certainly seems that way for most of my 2015 and the last 2 weeks proved to be no different. Sure hope the Divine is having a good laugh. Clearly I am getting many opportunities to practice my “letting go of perfect” pledge.

First off I did manage to get most of my gift items finished in time for Christmas, and had our guest room ready for my lovely in-laws visit. After those successes things got a little interesting. Starting with the in-laws arrival.

They made it to Denver without any problems and my husband took our SUV to pick them up at the airport the Monday evening before Christmas. They stopped at the grocery in Boulder to pick up a few items and while there my Father-in-Law (Baba) took a fall in the parking lot. He wouldn’t go to the hospital at that time, but by the morning he was admitting that he was hurt worse than he thought.

The plan for that Tuesday was decorating the Christmas tree with Nana and Baba and me going to town for an appointment and errands for the big day. Instead it was about getting Nana and Baba to the hospital emergency room for X-rays, stitches and a splint for some broken bones in his hand. Fortunately with some help from my sister-in-law we worked out all the logistics without too much headache for any one person.

The boys made cookies with Nana. — The kids made cookies with Nana.

The rest of the week went a little better. We had a fun Christmas with a house full of family. By the end of Christmas day I was feeling a bit worn down and the Sunday after Christmas I realized I was really coming down with a cold. I said good-bye to my in-laws Monday morning when they left for the airport, and went back to bed.

My grand plan for that Monday until New Year’s Day was to get lots of work done while the kids were still on school break. Unfortunately this week has instead been the “Graves Zombie Household” with both Himself and I down with this nasty virus.

Until today I was hopeful that the kids had escaped the virus, but it looks like my oldest may have been infected. I suspect my youngest is the one that gave it to us. He has always been good about sharing. He is bouncing around like a happy little puppy while the rest of us are snuffly and sneezy.

Fortunately colds do eventually run their course, and I am feeling a bit better today This is good, as I am headed to San Diego next Friday for the TNNA Winter Trade Show. Lots to get done in the next 6 days before then.

Tomorrow I finish taking the Christmas Tree down. Though I am enjoying one last night of the beautiful lights before it is down til next Christmas.

Though 2015 has been full of surprises and ended with more of a whimper than a bang, I am very optimistic about 2016. I hope to have lots of fun designs, videos, classes and some surprises to share with all of you very soon.