Life has settled into a nice balance of dyeing on my week-day off and winding/shipping on Saturday, which has afforded me the time for some new creating on Sundays when we are home.  It's nice to have new ideas floating around my head again instead of just trying to keep afloat.

I bought this machine some time ago wanting to try my hand at sewing leather.  It's an old machine that sometimes has a mind of it's own in how fast it wants to go, but it's been fun learning how to find it's rhythm.  I definitely have to pay attention when I am using her or I could find my finger sewn…yikes!

In making this bag I have learned a number of things, one of which has been setting double capped rivets  They are not only decorative, but they give the straps the are set in between the lining and the outside some stability.
You know me, I am all about the tools and I have found a die press to be such a nice way to set rivets.

This next tool was a tool of necessity.  I knew I wanted leather straps for my bags, but I just couldn't find them easily on the big wide world web, so I learned out to make my own from a side of leather using this simple but sharp little strap cutter.
I spent an entire 2 weeks cutting straps over the summer.  I have enough straps to last me into eternity…just sayin'

Normally, I fly through things and usually end up making mistakes that I have to backtrack to fix, but this time I forced myself to go slow as I was creating this pattern myself.  I took the time to carefully iron and sew the various stabilizers and I was painstakingly careful in my stitching as leather is expensive and you only get one shot at sewing it, because you can't erase those stitch holes in leather.

As a dyer of many colors when I am working with fabric that someone else has created, one of the things that I love most is putting colors that you would not necessarily expect to go together in a project.  I love the brightness of the lime green against the classic black and gray paisley.  It's a fun combination.

It was nice to have a semi lazy weekend at home to spend time creating new things.
I am pretty sure that there will be more of these bags in the near future. 😉

A few weeks ago… exactly 2 weeks ago, when I was out with the dogs for their first morning run, I was looking around the yard and noticed some fresh footprints in the new snow we had received the night before.  Curious about the prints, I set out to explore who had been enjoying the space we call our yard.

This snow came on the cusp of the crazy warm spell we have enjoyed over the last 2 weeks.  The last 2 winters have been so insanely cold up here in New England, it's been a nice reprieve to have this unusual warmth in March.
  I knew that with the forecast of warmer temperatures if I wanted to see the prints in the snow, I needed to start snapping the camera that morning.

The first footprints that you see are mine, in my fashionable morning gear…LOL. 
Pajamas, boots, down coat and mittens….a fashion statement for sure!

The first set of prints I saw were these.  Most likely a deer.  I have only ever seen a deer in my yard once and sadly it was an injured deer that needed to be put down by a fish and game warden.  It made the day a bit sadder, but thankfully the deer wasn't going to suffer any longer either.

Next were these prints?  I'm thinking that maybe they were racoon prints, but I could be wrong.  Definitely not a dog, but maybe a cat?  From the impression however a racoon is what instantly came to mind.
Any of you who know footprints, please jump in and let us know.

Lastly there were these prints.  Definitely an animal that waddles from how close together those footprints are.  My guess from the scents of this early Spring would be a skunk.  Ken has seen a number of them on his early morning walks and I have definitely been smelling their aromas when I am out with the dogs in the morning.
Hannah has always said that it's Spring when you can smell skunks.
She just may be right. 😉

It truly was a beautiful frosty morning! 
I am so thankful that I took the time to do a little discovering before the new snow melted.

So.. while I have been away there actually has been a lot of knitting going on.  One of the things I have had to work on since going back into the work force is time management, which has never been my strength.  At the top of my list of things to change was the amount of time I could get sucked into on the internet, literally hours could be easily lost.  Facebook, Pinterest, Etsy, etc….and in doing so I have found that I have more time to knit!  I even knit during my lunch hour now.  It has been good to get back at it, especially given that I need some new show samples.

This hat pattern is Winter's Fern and I love it!  Knit with 3 shades of my Frolic yarn, one of which is a new colorway that will go up on my website soon….Grasshopper.  Tomorrow I am going to have coffee with 2 of daughters…..perhaps I can persuade one of them to model it for me as I will finish it up tonight. 🙂

This week's Ten on Tuesday has pulled me out of hibernation………
"10 Favorite Things I Own That Are Made of Wood.
It's no secret that I love fine wood….indeed I do!
Here are a few of my favorite things…..

1.  First on the list is my beautiful spinning wheel that was custom built for my by Tom Livernois of McTavish Wheels.  It always makes me smile when I am spinning on this amazing collection of wood.

2.  My thick walnut Boos cutting board that Ken gave me for Christmas.  I keep this on my island in the kitchen.  It is always ready to be used.

3.  The beautiful flame maple rolling pin that I bought from a craftsman on Etsy…actually I purchased 2, the second one is scrumptious birdseye maple.  They double up as a great tool for pounding chicken in plastic bags.

4.  Our Cherry dinning room table…..it gets more beautiful with each year.

5. Our old Mahogany dining room table….it is the table that raised and fed my children as they grew.  Each one of those scratches and water rings held a story that will always be dear to my heart.  Structurally it just wore out, but it served us well.

6.  The freshly cut baseboard in our new bathroom…….there is nothing that I love more than the smell of freshly cut wood.  If I weren't so afraid of power tools because um….I am not good with sharp tools, I would probably love cutting wood with a chain saw.  Smells better than a new car!

7.  The beautiful birds-eye maple Purrington Angel Wings that I use on my loom when I am weaving.  The cost was a little bit more….but was there ever any question?

8.  Then there is this little purple heart seam ripper that recently joined the plastic ones in my sewing room….sigh. 

9.  The little salt and pepper cellar that lives next to my stove.  Always ready for a pinch of this or that to be tossed into the pot.

10.  …and lastly, this beautiful Corsetti Stamp that forged a friendship.  My love of beautiful wood and Adri Barr's love of Italian cooking with authentic tools.

I probably could go on and on….but I will end here.  Thank you Carole and Dale for an inspiring Ten on Tuesday!

Pattern:  Marklee
Designer:  Elisabeth Doherty
Yarn:  Woolen Rabbit Airy
Colorway:  Simply Plum

A while back I posted about Elizabeth Doherty's book here.  I have collaborated with Elizabeth over the last few years a few times and have always been so happy and humbled with what she has created with the yarns that I dye.

Airy was a yarn that I brought in not knowing how it would do as a single ply merino yarn, but Elizabeth has now shown me twice how nicely it works in the sweater patterns that she designs, both here with Marklee and

here as well with her Grass River Tunic.  I love her clean, classical lines that make for timeless sweaters.

I have been so blessed to work with so many talented designers over the years. 
These designs from Elizabeth are some of my favorites!

It was so nice to have an entire weekend off to relax!
As you know, right now I have been juggling working The Woolen Rabbit with working at my local Veterinary Hospital and I won't lie, it's been a challenge trying to keep up with everything, but I have finally settled into a pace that seems to be working.  I will have 2 more weeks of a crazy work schedule at the vet office with training, but then it will settle down to a regular schedule.  Once April rolls around and the yarn club comes to an end, I think that there will be a good balance with both positions.

Ken and I made the most of the weekend.
  I spent Saturday morning working for The Woolen Rabbit and he spent his morning working on the never ending bathroom project, but we took the afternoon off to watch the football playoffs.  We had a pre-game kick off playing a few games of bananagram to chase the cobwebs out of our brains while enjoying a few snacks, then we settled into watching our Patriots with all their boys healthy play like we know we can play.  GO PATS!!

This morning we both set out for a walk….separately.  There is no way my short legs can keep up with his longer ones without running…LOL.  I was so happy to be outside in the fresh air after a newly fallen snow.  It was a beautiful and invigorating walk.

One of the more challenging parts of going back into the work sector is finding time to walk outside on a regular basis, so I do cherish the days I can get outside and not be on the dreadmill.  It was a perfect day to be outside!

Once home we geared up for a trip down to the Southern part of the state to pick up a special treat and visit with family.

I have a good friend who lives close to the ocean who put together a big order of fresh sea scallops that a few of us went in together to purchase to get a lower price. Oh my, we had some of them for dinner tonight and I forgot how much better seafood is when you live close enough to the ocean to buy right from the fish mongers on the ocean.  We bought enough for 4 meals…yum!

We also took some time to visit with Courtney while she was working….I just love my girl!  She is one of a kind for sure and she always makes me smile.

Given how close we were to the seashore, there was no way I couldn't take a long walk along the water.  The air was crisp, but with a down jacket on it never felt cold and walking in the winter sand with boots on made for an easy hike up and down Hampton Beach. 
It was a wonderful weekend that truly felt like a real weekend off.

I hope you had a wonderful weekend as well!

Even though I was absent last month, I really did get a lot of creating accomplished.  It was my goal to give all of the kids something handmade this year that hopefully wasn't too hand made looking if you know what I mean. 😉

I managed to get 2 hats knitted, 2 scarves woven, some pottery that I felt was nice enough to be used and a big knitted cowl for Hannah that will go back to school with her in a few weeks.  (It's been nice to have her home!)

I was so pleased with the pottery above.  I gifted the mug and the bowl to my oldest daughter Stacey and I kept the batter bowl for myself.  I was so pleased with them, but the batter bowl was my break through piece for me.  I finally mustered up the courage to trim this bowl hard, which is not easy to do mentally because you are always worried you are going to trim too much and put a hole into it. 

I learned so much with this grouping.  A different glazing technique, different throwing, making handles and more aggressive trimming.

I also made these 2 bowls and while the bowl with the handles is heavy enough to clock an intruder in the head and knock him out, I still learned a lot about being in control of the desired shape and adding handles.  Aggressive trimming was needed here, but the fear factor got the best of me…. it's all a learning process for getting a tactile feeling for what you are doing and it's fun!

The smaller bowl is one that I was very pleased with.  It's a sturdy bowl that is a nice size and is very even around the top and sides.  I was very happy with the way the glaze came out too.

Here is the inside of the smaller bowl
Isn't it pretty?

All in all, I think that the things that I gifted to the kids came out pretty good and I was happy to share some handmade gifts with them this year.  I hope that they were happy to receive them.

Next week I will show you the woven scarves and the big knitted cowl I am working on for Hannah. 🙂

Last year I needed a word to make me smile. 
It's no secret if you have been reading my blog or my facebook page that the last few winters have been hard ones for me.  I have  found that I really struggle with the long days of darkness.  The dark along with the continuous pain that I have learned to live with really had me searching for a word to help celebrate those long dark days, which is why I chose Sparkle and truth be told, it really did help.
I loved my Sparkle word!

Last year I jumped into the word thing and bought a "One Little Word" kit and lots of sparkly things to fill up my binder and did I do anything with it?  No, no I did not…LOL.  I did however fully embrace my word.  I guess I didn't need all of the extra's to help me focus on filling my life with Sparkle.  I thought of it often and it truly did make me smile. 
I think it is a word that will forever stay with me, especially in the winter.

As the calendar turns, I thought about what I wanted for my word this year.  Last year my word was chosen to help me get through the dark times, but this year I wanted it to turn it around. Even though I think that I am basically a kind person,  practicing kindness is not always easy or something that is our first reflex. 
This year I am going to really concentrate on practicing kindness.

How about you…do you have a word for 2016?

This is the moment of embarking.
All auspicious signs are in place.
In the beginning, all things are hopeful.  We prepare ourselves to start anew.  Though we may be intent on the magnificent journey ahead, all things are contained in this first moment; our optimism, our faith, our resolution, our innocence.
 Deng Ming~Dao