The Crafty Adventures of Woolgirl & Abby

Candy Corn in July

I received a package from a dear friend last week, and I'll bet you can't guess what it was?

Let me give you a little hint...it involved the words Candy and Corn!

These are my own (yes, my very own!) pair of Glinda socks in Candy Corn Madelinetosh. For this day and for many more to come, I have become a giddy schoolgirl, dancing here and there and all about with my special Glinda socks. I have wanted a pair of these since the first Glinda kit came out well over a year ago, and now they are on my feet, in such a special colorway! This was our Halloween colorway last year - a tribute to one of my favorite Halloween candies - Candy Corn!

My good friend Kristine sent these to me as a special present - "just because". I couldn't help but cry when I saw them - they were just so perfect...

 

In fact, I may never take them off...

Ever...

Candy corn, my sweet, you've gotten a bad rap.
People say you're too sugary,
Too sickening,
Liable to make everyone fat.

But they don't know what I know,
oh candy o' mine.
They don't know how tasty you are,
how delicious,
how you make me shine.

Hope you have a sweet and wonderful Tuesday! 

Schnauzer bottoms, behinds, and bums

Don't schnauzer's have the cutest little bottoms? It may seem a bit odd to say so, but let's be serious here, they have the cutest little behinds around! Abby's markings are especially cute, I think - and of course, I'm a bit biased, but the white furr on her little bum is so darn adorable.

 
It matches all the little patches of white and lighter silver that she has on her beard and eyebrows. 

 

and on her feet, of course. 

(she's such a ham for the camera!)

So is someone else in our family. :)

 I mean, isn't she just precious? What do you suppose she's thinking?

Nupps

I've joined the bandwagon and have cast on for Annis, which I love tremendously...all except for the nupps. I have to be honest here - I'm just not quite sure I will ever knit a nupp again after this pattern. Do I like how they look? Yes. Do they add a lovely texture to the pattern? Yes. Could the pattern be just as great with a bead instead of a nupp? Absolutely! IF I had thought ahead, I would have chosen beads instead of the nupps, as the nupps just add (and I'm being quite blunt here) - WORK and HEARTACHE!

 

You can't really see them in my photos, but soon (and I'm guessing within the next few days), Annis will fly off the needles and onto my shoulders,and the nupps will be quite visible.

Nupp after nupp after beatiful nupp...

Shouldn't there be a poem about nupps? I think yes...

  NUPPS

There once was a girl knitting Annis,

With Zen Yarn Garden's cashmere Serenity

She would knit nupp after nupp after beatiful nupp,

in between her sips of afternoon tea.

But what's this? Something she could not possibly forsee...

each nupp involved purling 7 stitches together...

and there were many of these nupps, you see.

The girl knitted and purled, and knitted and purled, and knitted and purled again

until the thought of another nupp was just too much to bear -

By golly! she said. Knitting so many nupps just doesn't seem quite fair!

But on and on and on she knit

until the final nupp appeared,

and it was then, and only then, that she sighed a sigh of relief

and was so thankful that she had persevered. 

Nupps: I love you, I hate you.

While the flowers are in bloom

THIS is where I've been this week, and all through next we've been told, serving on Jury Duty. Yes, it's the first couple weeks of summer and I was chosen for a two week trial - what are the chances? Apparently they are pretty great, as in the last few years I've been summoned for Jury Duty three times and have served on trials ALL of those times (not to this court alone) - I mean...seriously! What is up with that? I have friends who have never been called for Jury Duty - not even once! This has to be some sort of serious wacky luck. 

So, I think to myself, at LEAST I might be able to knit during those times we're not in the courtroom, right? Maybe catch up on some projects - this could be really great. Think again! To top it off, they will not allow knitting needles in the courthouse. Yes, I repeat that, they will NOT allow knitting needles in the courthouse. This is truly a crime. I mean...the actual pin that is on my juror button is sharper than my circular needles, but they have no problem allowing that in the courthouse. Really??? And because the parking lot they have us parking in is 5 blocks away from the courthouse (another crime I say!), it makes it pretty difficult to get lunch, get to the car, and get back to the courthouse in the time allowed for lunch (if, by chance, I might want to sit and knit a bit for lunch).

Ahhh...such is life, I suppose. So, I catch up on my reading instead...yes?

 

And as the summer season grows...

While the flowers are in bloom...

For the next couple of weeks...

I shall sit in this courtroom.

Je t'adore

I have found myself, most recently, working on gift knitting - small projects that are fairly simple to knit, yet turn out just cute as as button (and look like they may have been a bit more complicated). You know the ones! Cute as a button projects like these adorable French Press Slippers - or as they say in French - c'est adorable French Press Slippers!

 

These were a gift for my mother-in-law for Mother's Day this May - and she definitely adored them! How could you not? They fit perfectly, look adorable on your feet, and keep your feet nice and toasty.

True to the pattern I used Patons Classic Wool (which felts beautifully!), and a set of adorable wood buttons I found at a second-hand shop. Speaking of buttons, aren't these little wooden handmade buttons just "au parfait"?

 

My friend Sarah suggested I try them, and I'm so glad I did, as each button is entirely unique (and you know how we love "unique" around here at Woolgirl!), gorgeous, and handmade by Jay - who is wonderful to work with. Looking for that perfect little touch to add to that special 'somethin somethin' you have on the needles? Wooden Treasures is the place to go!

And the French Press Slippers? Well, as it turns out, it's such an addicting pattern that I had to immediately cast on for another pair.

These beauties are still in the works, but aren't they going to make the most "ravissant" Ruby Slippers?

These too are also for a dear friend, and the buttons? Another second-hand discovery that I felt these slippers could not live without. Or maybe it was I who could not live without them? He he! As I said, I'm a sucker for unique buttons.

 

Oh, and I almost forgot! We've added a few more "Grab Bags" to the shop today, and will be adding a few more throughout the day today and tomorrow, so some great deals are just waiting to be yours!

 

and while you're in the shop, be sure to check out the new Yellow Brick Road extras we posted in the Oz Club section. Aren't these bags just 'superbe'?

 

Have a glorious Monday!

The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide you are not going to stay where you are

It seems a year and a day since I posted anything at all, and with lots of happenings in between this post and the one before it, I finally feel that I am ready to begin again. I feel as if I have a renewed soul, a new outlook on where I'm going, and a desire to be creative once again - which was something I felt I had lost in this journey we call life. It's amazing how health and vitality can take one's being to new levels - whether they are low levels or high levels - they are new levels, and not always the easiest to adjust to.

So, it appears that I have lots to catch up on, now don't I? You can expect regular updates on the blog again regarding new items posted in the shop (extras from kits and original items from time to time) and new kits we're offering. I'll also be posting about some of the fun craft projects I'm typically working on and of course, current knitting projects in the works. We are getting ready to send out our June Newsletter, so if you're in our email database you should expect to receive that sometime in the next day. It's packed full of details on our current clubs and kits, upcoming opportunities, and new shop items, like our fun Grab Bags!

You can expect a new look to the blog over the next few weeks - we are in the process of updating our banner and overall look of the blog, so the current design is a temporary one while we work behind the scenes on the new design. We will also be changing some of the features on our website over the course of the next few months - so except to see some changes there as well.

Be sure to check out the current Kits and Clubs we have available (on our Kits and Clubs section of the website), including the following...

Lucy: The Doctor is In

Black Cat Halloween

Divinely Inspired

 

Cuppa Java

 

The Wicked Witch Rides again…

and The Return of Oz

We've also put together some pretty cool Grab Bags in the shop which are offered at amazing prices! The Grab Bags feature extras that we've had in the shop - in some cases full skeins of unique colorways, leftover yarns, sample yarns, 1/2 skeins of test knit skeins, etc. Lots of fun stuff there to add to your stash!

 

Have a wonderful Wednesday!!!