Updates, and a Pillow Full of Cute

There are a couple of exciting things going on this week for me.
First of all, there is the big craft sale at Treadle Yard Goods.
10 of the women who work at Treadle, myself included, have been stitching, beading, weaving, quilting, and who knows what else, for months to put together a sale of our wares.
It starts on Thursday, and goes through Sunday at Treadle Yard Goods in Saint Paul.
Come on by! I'll be manning (woman-ing?) the sale on Saturday.

Also, if you want to hear some great music in the most charming church in Minneapolis, you should come to the Lessons and Carols service at Saint Paul's Episcopal Church this Friday, December 3.
The service begins at 7:00 PM, and is followed by a reception which comes complete with strolling carolers, again, myself included.

With all of my knitting and weaving and sewing, and more that I'll talk about later in the week, my sad neglected camera has seen a lot of the inside of the drawer lately, but I do like to have photos in my posts, so here is one for today.

The kids just found this Little Daisy's Big Nap Pillow in our giant pillow and blanket basket, and now it's a part of our daily life once again. Long ago, the Younger used to take occasional naps on it, and I have had this image in my head for a few days. I thought I could share it with you, after all, what else are blogs for?

I hope to see you soon!

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving for me is all about family, and I am filled with gratitude that I can spend the day with most of them.
The notable absence today will be my sister, look for her this morning on TV, she'll be a balloon handler at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!
I hope your day is filled with wonderful things, and pie.

This is What We Do

The ladies of Treadle Yard Goods are holding a craft sale in a couple of weeks called This is What We Do.
There will be lots of amazing crafts - I have many very talented co-workers.
My contribution will be hand-woven scarves, knitted hats, and some sewn scarves.
Today, I spent some time sewing.
These scarves are made from cotton velvet with a cotton and linen patchwork section and lined with virgin wool, or cashmere.
They are just long enough to tuck under the collar of your coat.
It was lots of fun to go through my stash fabrics and choose the pieces for the patchwork.

With all of the knitting on my to-do list, I haven't been working very steadily on the other pieces for this show, but I do have a few things, and hopefully my little table won't look too sad.

The show runs Thursday, December 2nd - Sunday December 5th at Treadle 2, around the corner from Treadle Yard Goods.
Come on by and say hi!

Taking it Easy

Today is going to be a day to take it easy.
On some levels the decision was made for me; sick kid at home, husband at home using vacation days, class canceled for the holiday, etc.
This morning I started on my Thanksgiving baking, though the bulk of the work will be tomorrow, and I am spending the morning ironing fabric in preparation for a large sewing project.
I'll hope to take and share some photos of said project later today.
For right now, I am enjoying a little time to drink some tea and browse the blogs.

How is your Tuesday shaping up?

Sniff

The illness has set in here in the Fifth Lamp house.
I have been drinking a lot of this ginger tea - cut up a knuckle of a ginger root, steep it in hot water for a few minutes, add the juice of half a lemon and a fair amount of honey.
Mmmm. I'm feeling better already.

Busy, Again

I have had a premonition that I won't be here very often in the next few weeks.
It's for a great reason, I have lots of orders, and that means I will be spending all of my time knitting.
The last 5 days were a whirlwind of Christmas Stockings and finishing up the Fresco Vest.That weird splotch is a dry spot on the back, the rest is still wet from blocking.

I would be knitting another stocking right now, if I hadn't run out of yarn.
That means that I have to make a trip to the yarn store this morning before I go to see HARRY POTTER!!!!! with the husband.

One big event that I missed while engrossed in the knitting was the giant snowstorm that we had last Saturday.
It was really snowy.
For Real.

I didn't even go out to take any photos, my hands were too full of yarn to pick up the camera.
A couple of days later, after the bulk of the snow had melted, we had a day of cute flurries.
I hope wherever you are, you're nice and cozy.

Give to the Max Day

Hi All,
I am here today with a request.
Tomorrow, Tuesday, November 16th, is Give to the Max Day in Minnesota, which is a coordinated charitable giving day organized by GiveMN.org.
GiveMN is an online organization which helps non-profits find a larger audience and helps to facilitate online donations.

My singing group, Caritas Vocal Ensemble (formerly known as Sacred Voice), would love to have your financial support tomorrow.
Caritas Vocal Ensemble is a 10 voice a capella chamber ensemble.
We sing 6-8 concerts every Spring, each a benefit for a worthy non-profit in the Twin Cities who provides basic human services to the community, including food, shelter, clothing and health care.
In the current economy, when there are more and more cuts being made in state and national budgets, these essential groups need our help more than ever.
Your donations to Caritas Vocal Ensemble (aka Sacred Voice) will be used to cover our basic operating costs - poster and program printing costs, music costs, paying our rehearsal accompanists and paying our consulting Artistic Director.
Please visit Sacred Voice - GiveMN to donate.
A very generous supporter has offered to match all donations up to $5000 that we receive tomorrow, so your donation can go twice as far!