THRIFTY THURSDAY

When you photograph people
 in colour you photograph their
clothes. But when you photograph
people in B&W, you photograph
their souls! 

~Ted Grant

I have an old picture screen

in my family room, one that
is filled with photos of people
who have been in my life,
people who are no longer
here physical, but now live
in my heart.
I also fill it with a few photos
of the people who are still
here, but have changed and
grown.
Every few years I change the
color of the screen and the
scrap book paper giving it a
whole new look, but the 
photos?
 No, the photos stay the same
because they are part of my
soul.
Joining Cory for Thrifty Thursday.

YARN ALONG

“All our progress is an unfolding,

 like the vegetable[fruit] bud,

 you have first an instinct,

then an opinion, then a

knowledge, as the plant

has root, bud and fruit.

Trust the instinct to the

end, though you can render

 no reason."

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

I am so happy to finally
have something new on
my needles this week.
Since I finished my cardigan
I wanted something that
would knit up a little quicker,
something that would continue
to expand my knitting skills
and that I could actually use this
summer; in my opinion I think
 The Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief
is the perfect pattern for all of this.
I have learned to do a garter tab,
to Make 1 right and Make 1 left
so my knitting skills are growing.
I am using Rowan Lenpur Linen
in Vivid  and I love this yarn!
Not only is the yarn super soft, I
think it's so cool that it's made from
pine trees just like the ones I 
plant and grow on my property. 
I am still reading Sheepish
and enjoying it immensely.
While reading Sheepish,  I
have laughed and cried, dreamed
of owning sheep and have a
strong desire to order a spinning
wheel. I am trying to read
it slowly so 'it will last',
but sometimes it's really hard
to put down and to top it off
each chapter begins with a
quote!
Now, what have you been up
to this week?
Joining up with Ginny for this
week's Yarn Along.

MY SOUL IS FILLED WITH DELIGHT

Every now and then,
when the world sits just right,
a gentle breath of heaven
fills my soul with delight...

~Hazelmarie ‘Mattie’ Elliott,
A Breath of Heaven

Even with a tropical storm headed
my way and the power being out
for five hours it cannot diminish my
delight...
I finished my cardigan and I love it.
It's a little breezy here and the
sun comes and goes from behind
fast moving clouds, but I wanted to
share just a little bit of my happiness
with you.
I would have taken photos modeling
the cardigan for you, but I am the
only one here so this is the best
I could think of at the moment.
I hope you each have enjoyed a
beautiful day and you can feel
a little bit of heaven blowing down
and touching your soul. My weather
is expected to continue to deteriorate
over the next twenty four hours so
I will be in touch when I can.
Much love! xx


 

WEEKENDING

Today, give a stranger one
of your smiles. It might be
 the only sunshine he sees
 all day. 

~Quoted in P.S. I Love You

All my babies have traveled
to different parts of the country
so it's just the two of us again.
No cooking, just eating cold
salads from the fridge,
being terrible disappointed in
a movie and thinking from
now on I'll just stick with
the classics as I never am
happy with new movies.
Picking lots of fresh vegetables
from my personnel garden
and already feeling slightly
overwhelmed with it all.
Loving how a simple smile
at a stranger passing by at the
market seems to brighten
their day.
Finishing my cardigan and
being slightly impatient for
it to dry.
Watching the trees blow in
the wind and the feeder
bands of rain come and go...
the second tropical storm of the
'yet to begin hurricane season'
is on its way!
Hope your weekend is filled with
fun!
Joining up with Amanda
for her weekending post.


 

THIS MOMENT

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Joining with SouleMama. xx

THRIFTY THURSDAY

Today was good. 

Today was fun. 

Tomorrow is another one. 

~Dr. Seuss

I picked this little 'vase' up
at my local Goodwill a little
while ago for a meer $.79!
Since coming in my home
it's purpose has been to
hold toothpicks since I really
had no idea of it's original use,
I just thought it was cute.
Then I saw this on Heidi's
site. Now I know and as soon
as I have more ripe tomatoes
my little 'vase' will have
a new job! It's always
fun to visit a thrift store
and find a little 'something
something' isn't it?
Joining with Cory.

YARN ALONG

"Spring shows what God can do
with a drab and dirty world."

~ Virgil A. Kraft

Well, as you can see I am
still working on my cardigan.
I am on the second sleeve and
then all that remains is the
edging. I did change the length
of sleeve to a short sleeve since
I think I will get more wear out
of it that way. I am using the exact
same size dpn's as the circular
needle I used to knit the body,
but for some reason my stitches
are a Whole lot tighter. 
I  am hoping with a good
long soak everything will kind
of loosen up and meld together
making for fabulous looking
cardigan. ;)

I have been doing some traveling
this past week and needed a little
something to keep my hands
busy and decided on a few washcloths
from the Knitter's Home Companion.
I think a stack of  cotton washcloths and
a few bars of homemade soap would
make a nice gift don't you?

I have been reading Sheepish
which has been making it way
around Yarn Along and for
good reason- from what I've
read so far it's a great book.
If I didn't live in the deep south
and have summer temperatures
that can reach  to almost 115 with
the heat index I would be outside
right now putting up fencing for
a few hundred sheep.
What have you been up to this week?
Joining with Ginny.

BREAD

"Bread is the warmest, kindest of all words.
Write it always with a capital letter,
 like your own name."

~from a café sign

It started with this....

and then I made this Bread.

Now I am thinking I should
try this Bread.

My life has forever changed
now that I have sourdough
in it.

Do you have sourdough
living in your refrigerator?

WEEKENDING

If you truly love Nature,
you will find beauty everywhere. 

~Vincent Van Gogh

A weekend with just the
two of us as the kid's are
off doing their own things.
Fields being worked took
up most of his time while
I played in the kitchen.
Finally had enough ripe tomatoes
to make a few batches of
salsa and enough bell peppers
to start restocking the freezer.
Learned that  I knit a lot tighter
with dpn's than circular, but 
am not sure if I dislike the
sleeve enough to pull it out
and start over or not.
Chinese food for dinner and
starting a great book I was
gifted in the mail from a
wonderful friend.
Sunday morning was a change
in plans as we learned we have
our first Tropical Storm of
the season. Since the beach
is out we are spending a
quiet day at home relaxing
before the last week of school
begins tomorrow.
What have you been up to
this weekend?
Linking up with Amanda.

GIVEAWAY WINNER ANNOUNCED

Gratitude is the memory of the heart.

  ~Jean Baptiste Massieu

Thank you to all who entered
my giveaway. I am thankful
for all of you, you each have
touched my heart and for that
I am grateful. The winner of my
little giveaway is:

 

~Kelly~May 15, 2012 2:59 PM

Awesome!! These look fantastic, Tracey. Count me in for the giveaway... I can already think of a few uses. As far as color goes... surprise me if I am lucky enough to win. ;)

Kelly,

Email me your information and I'll get your prize out next week.

I hope you all have a great weekend.

this moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Joining with SouleMama. xx

YARN ALONG

And the day came when

 the risk to remain tight

in a bud was more painful

than the risk it took to blossom.

~ Anais Nim

At the risk of repeating myself
once again and boring you
to tears,  here are my clothes
line baskets. [I'm sorry ].
While I really love the finished
products, I must be honest
and say that I despised
knitting them; they were
a lot of work and just not
enjoyable.  I can not say
if I will ever cast on another
clothesline basket or not, but
I do know it won't be anytime
soon.

And what is up next? Yes, another
repeat, but I am finally at
the border of my cardigan
and then I can move on to
the sleeves so this will be
off the needles very soon.
This knitting is very easy
and now that I know what I
am doing I am really enjoying
myself which is what knitting is
all about right?

I  received a lovely surprise in
the mail last week from a
dear friend, a copy of
Country Weekend Socks.
There are some beautiful
sock patterns in it and I
do know there will be a
pair of socks being cast on
in the near future.

What have you been up to
this week?
I am joining with Ginny
for this week's Yarn Along.

A LITTLE GIVEAWAY

The fact that I can plant a seed
 and it becomes a flower, share
a bit of knowledge and it becomes
 another's, smile at someone and
 receive a smile in return, are to
me continual spiritual exercises.

~ Leo F. Buscaglia

I still knit every single day,
but now I have also been
making little bowls from
the huge supply of gourds
we grew last year.
I give the gourds a good
scrubbing, then cut the
top off, saving the seeds.
I paint and seal the
gourd, punch holes around
the top then sew a little
hemp string around the
it. I think they have turned
out really cute. I thought
one of you might like to have
a little bowl of your own
along with a few seeds
to plant in your own yard.
The gourds are Hawaiian
Dance Mask. My seeds
originated from Sand Hill Preservation Center
and are an heirloom seed.
Let me know if you are
interested and what color
you would like, I'll draw
a name on Saturday.
I also wanted to remind you
that there is still time to
sign up for the State & Country Swap
which will also close on
Saturday.
Good luck, I hope you win!
UPDATE: Pick any color you
like in the world, I have
more paints.