A Belated "Thank You"

I received a wonderful package from Knit Picks right before I left on a business trip last week and didn't get a chance to acknowledge it.

The package was from my SP12 spoiler. She had it sent directly from the shop so I wouldn't see her return address... very tricky! (I like it!)

The box contained the book Shibori Knitted Felt, and six very feltable skeins of Knit Picks kettle-dyed Wool of the Andes. I took the book on the plane with me and loved pouring over the great ideas and photos. The yarn is in colors I love: Wine (dark red), Ivy (dark green), and Timber (rich chocolate brown).

What a great package.... thank so much!

Visit My Business Buddy & Enter to Win!

During the month of July, the EtsyGreetings street team is working together with the JET (Etsy Jewelry) street team in a joint promotion. To celebrate, I'm running a contest!

To enter, you must visit The Vintage Jewelry Box, my creative and talented Business Buddy. Pick one of her gorgeous creations as your favorite and post about it here.

I will run the contest through July 31. On August 1, I will draw a winner from all the folks who commented and the winner will receive a selection of 4 of my notecards.

Tempted to purchase a pair of earrings or that fabulous "Green" Stamp bracelet? Well, now's the time to do it! We are running a Business Buddy special -- purchase an item from one of us and receive a 20% discount on an item from the other. Just message "Great things can happen" when you make your purchase!

Late breaking news: In addition to the 4 notecards, the winner will also receive a 50% off coupon from Jen @ The Vintage Jewelry Box/The Automat! It's good for either of her Etsy shops. Good luck!

SP12: Question of the Week #6

What is your favorite type of project to take along on holiday/vacation?

I love to knit while on vacation, but figuring out what to bring is a real art. You want a project that's interesting, can be picked up and put down often, and lasts the right amount of time for the trip.

In terms of how much to bring, I've done it all -- brought way too much and way too little.

In the fall of 2006 Bob, Tommy, Winston, and I drove the length of Route 66 as our vacation. We drove to downtown Chicago and officially started at its beginning -- right across the street from the Art Institute. I brought lots and lots of knitting supplies with me. Gosh, two weeks on the road, I figured I'd knit and knit and knit.

But navigating along the old road required that I constantly study several Route 66 guides. It twists and turns constantly. I couldn't knit. So I carried all that yarn the length of Route 66 and back home again.

We try to visit my family's cabin in northern Ontario every summer. We all love it up there -- the air smells wonderful, we pick wild blueberries, canoe, bake bread, and relax. The perfect place to knit. But the first few times I brought knitting with me, I didn't bring enough. And there aren't a lot of yarn shops anywhere nearby. I need to bring more with me this year!

Friday's Feast

Time for another Friday get-to-know-me post. This one is from Friday's Feast:

Appetizer

When was the last time you had your hair cut/trimmed? A couple of months ago. It's very much time again... I need to call for an appointment tomorrow!

Soup

Name one thing you miss about being a child. A summer filled with free time.

Salad

Pick one: butter, margarine, olive oil. 1) olive oil, 2) butter, never) margarine

Main Course

If you could learn another language, which one would you pick, and why? French, because we live so close to Canada.

Dessert

Finish this sentence: In 5 years I expect to be… I suspect my life will be pretty similar to what it is right now. But it'll be interesting to see!

A Mosaic of Me

This game is making the rounds of various blogs. It's at its most entertaining when you're supposed to be doing something (like laundry) and do this instead...

Create your own by inputting your answers into the Search feature on Flickr and then copying and pasting the URLs into Big Huge Lab's Mosaic Maker.

The Questions:
1. What is your first name? Heather
2. What is your favorite food? chocolate
3. What high school did you go to? Redford High School
4. What is your favorite color? Sage green
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Colin Firth
6. Favorite drink? Earl Grey tea
7. Dream vacation? Scotland
8. Favorite dessert? Coffee ice cream
9. What you want to be when you grow up? Happy and loved
10. What do you love most in life? My family
11. One Word to describe you. Complex
12. Your flickr name: Winemakerssister

I think (looking at this) that it actually gives you a pretty good picture of me.

My Favorite Summertime Memories

A current contest for the Summer of Yarn Love swap....

My favorite summertime memory spanned ages 8 or 9 through about 14. Girl Scout camp.

Each summer I'd spend two weeks at Girl Scout camp. Camp Metamora, near Metamora, Michigan.

I was one of those kids who lived year to year with camp as the highlight of my year. I completely understand all the camp movies where the kids were obsessed with summer camp.

But Girl Scout camp doesn't last all summer like the ones in the movies. It lasts just two weeks. But for 5 or 6 years, they were the best two weeks of my year.

I was the only girl from my troop to go to camp. No one else seemed interested. But I've always been pretty independent, and I never remember it bothering me to be there and not know anyone else. When I was littler I'd attach myself to one of the counselors. I think that was my way of handling being on my own.

Each summer we'd do basically the same things: swimming, boating, hiking, arts & crafts. As I got older, the "units" tended to concentrate on a big trip of some sort. One year we backpacked along the AuSable. Another year we canoed the Pere Marquette River.

Looking back, I'm not sure if I can pinpoint exactly why I loved summer camp so much. Maybe part of it was being on my own. And I just loved Girl Scouts -- learning the skills, earning badges, cooking over the open fire, making new "best" friends. Lovely memories of summers long ago.

Fred & George

No they're not redheads. But otherwise they could pass for smaller, fuzzier versions of the Weasley twins.

They look so cute and harmless in this photo. But when you get this many littermates together -- and they feel comfortable and safe -- they become quite the home terrorists.

The kittens been with us for exactly two weeks today. When I found out that my friend Kate had two male kittens available for adoption, we put them on order and waited until they were old enough to leave mama safely.

I'd been wanting a little boy kitten to keep Henry company ever since his brother Alex died from FIP earlier this year. He's been so lonely ever since -- wanting a playmate. None of the other cats will play with him.

And, of course, when you get one kitten I believe you should always get two. Thus Fred (far right) and George (far left).

You noticed that there's three? Yep. Tommy claimed the third from Kate. He and Cortney are taking him with them when they move to their apartment (near school and work) in a few weeks. Tucker. He's the lightest one... in the middle.

So, back to Fred and George (and Tucker, currently on loan). They attack my dinner, constantly sit on the power button of my laptop and turn it off, climb my bare legs to get into my lap, and are amazing little purring balls of fluff. Tiny fluffy balls of joy.... with sharp edges.

Business Buddies

During the month of July, the EtsyGreetings team is working together with JET (the Etsy Jewelry team) to promote each other's businesses.

I approached Jen at thevintagejewelrybox because I loved her shop. I really wanted to work with someone whose work I admired (and lusted after).

Her work is original, creative, and very, very wearable. I just love this series she's created with beautifully conditioned vintage Lucite beads. She pairs them with simple satin finish ear wires and describes them as "simply modern." I find them classic and creative with a wonderful Mid-Century feel. And, of course, I love Mid-Century!

In her profile, she says "Handmade Jewelry Inspired by Vintage Modern Design, Art Inspired Jewelry, Artist made Jewelry and Art Jewelry. What is old was once new. Modern design of the 20th century, i.e. Minimalism, The Machine Age, Bauhaus and Art Deco periods are the inspiration. My hope is to design a visually pleasing piece inspired by one of these eras. Jewelry is the vehicle which expresses what inspires me and it is quite satisfying when my work becomes inspiring to the wearer."

Stop by soon and enjoy the eye candy.

SP12: Question of the Week #4

1) What yarn (that you don’t have/haven’t used) would make your stash “complete”?
My stash is a constant work in progress. Unfortunately I'm a collector (that's a nice term for it... perhaps "pack rat" is more appropriate) and building a yarn stash really taps into that. So the answer to the question is... my stash will never be "complete."

2) What yarn do you never want to be without?
A good basic 100% wool (or wool + other feltable fibers) that felts well. Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride. Cascade 220. Anything like that. And, of course, in a range of colors....

Happy Ice Cream Month!

I'm not sure that I ever need an excuse to enjoy ice cream, but here's one. July is Ice Cream Month... yay!

As part of the Knitter's Holiday swap (what a perfect holiday to celebrate), I just received this great ice cream themed package.

It came from a swapper in Vermont, so it was filled with all sorts of wonderful Vermont goodies -- Ben & Jerry's scoop, gift certificate, and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough pencil, along with Vermont maple syrup and a bumper sticker from Gardener's Supply.

The yarn is gorgeous -- a green-tea colored skein of merino and some chocolate-colored alpaca. She also sent a wonderful little container to hold stitch markers (and some cute ones were included inside), napkins (in case of dribbles), and chocolate sauce.

Unlike most knitting swaps, Bob thought this one was a pretty good idea. :)

Starbucks and Yarn Questionnaire

I'm one of the admins for the Starbucks and Yarn swap -- it's been a lot of fun so far! Here's my questionnaire for my spoiler....

1. Full name - Heather Price
   
2. Ravelry ID - winemakerssister
   
3. Email address - winemakerssister AT yahoo DOT com
   
4. Blog address (if you have one) - winemakerssister.blogspot.com
   
5. Handmade item you desire in the swap (bag, cup cozy, etc.) - surprise me!
   
6. Starbucks item you desire (gift card, mug, beans, etc.) - gift card, I guess (but I'm happy with anything)
   
7. Favorite Starbucks beverage/bean - Venti skim decaf latte with an extra shot
   
8. Favorite snack food - chocolate, salty things
   
9. Favorite color(s) - most greens (just not kelly green), red and dark red, most blues
   
10. Favorite fragrance - green tea, lemon, light florals
    
11. What types of things do you like to knit? - bags, felted stuff, hats, a few afghans, sweaters, scarves
    
12. Do you spin? - I did a bit years ago in college, haven't since
    
13. Do you dye your own yarn? - not at this time
    
14. Favorite yarns - soft natural fibers like alpaca, cashmere, silk, merino...
    
15. Favorite needles - bamboo & wood circulars
    
16. Do you have any allergies? - smoke
    
17. Would you be willing to prepare an angel kit if necessary? - yes, if needed
    
18. Do you have any special requests? - nope
    
19. Do you have any pets? - 1 Golden Retriever, 6 cats
    
20. Is your home smoking or non-smoking? - non-smoking