Hello Christina!

I don't know what I would do without my To Do Lists - or sticky notes! That is a fabulous analogy about stopping while hiking to see where you've come from, instead of always looking at where you need to go. Its all about the journey, isn't it?!

I'm off to your blog in a minute then to check out your photos. Music is such an important thing to introduce children to! I play the alto saxophone and piano but it has been quite awhile since I've played either one. I have a Steinway piano but seldom find time to play. For a long time my arthritis prevented me from playing but that is no longer my excuse. I would love to learn to play the violin one day. I'll put that on my Bucket List.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Hugs
Brenda

Dear Christina,

Ha! You should have seen me when I first "retired" from my "real job" in June 2008. I wandered around the house for days on end, trying to figure out where to start, there were so many things that I had put off for far too long! Eventually I decided I needed to make a list and prioritize things and then check them off as I got them done so I could see that I was doing something and making progress daily.

I learned to knit and crochet when I was young but didn't do either for quite a few years when I had young children at home, a full time job, etc. It was after we moved here and started raising llamas that I got back into it - once you've used natural fibers, you never want to touch acrylic again!

I hope your daughter learns to knit. I learned to do a lot of different patterns by buying a sampler afghan pattern book - each square used a different knitting technique and was only 12" square so it was nice to have a small piece to complete - not so overwhelming that way - and then you attach all the squares (which I haven't done yet!)

I have yet to finish a sock. I have a toe up sock on the needles that has been sitting there for a year now, waiting for me to attempt the heel. I don't have much success with ripping my knitting work back though (I always get the stitches messed up and cannot get them back on the needles) so I'm afraid to try until I have someone sitting beside me that can help me if I run into trouble. No guts...no glory...oh well.

Reds and browns with copper would be beautiful, too. Or leafy greens and yellow.

Have a great rest of the week! Oh, and thank you for clearing up what the sign "Utfart" meant. I had to ask... ;o)

Hugs
Brenda

Dear Christina,

No, you didn't complain too much, I could tell you had a lot of things on your mind and sometimes it isn't just one thing that nags at us but all the little things that pile up on a daily basis and seem overwhelming! Baby steps...tackle one thing at a time...and sometimes other things just seem to somehow unravel themselves.

Oh yes, I frequently wonder what I'm going to do next. I have so many custom orders lately that I don't have to wonder what I'm going to do, I just have to get busy and DO it! I have some beautiful fibers in teal, purple and blue that I dyed some coordinating silk to go with it; so I'll have yearling mohair, silk and NZ Romney wool. The wool isn't very soft so I'm hoping the silk will help to soften it and the mohair will add such luster to the batts. But, I have 6 more dye pots of fleeces to get dyed up for a custom order, Roving of the Month rovings to get dyed up before Friday and a Fiber of the Month Club batt to get carded up. Some days I just don't feel like doing much of anything except sitting at the computer! Other days I have so many things I want to do I run around in circles trying to decide what to tackle first.

I love the look of copper. I think copper combined with something equally as warm, like carnelian or jaspers, would be stunning. I have a carnelian necklace that is on its way back to me from Florida. It has a beautiful copper maple leaf pendant that I had the designer remove from its location towards the top of the necklace and hang it on the lowest of the three strands of carnelian. I can't wait to see how it looks!

Have a great rest of the week. Happy creating!!

Oh, and regarding Creative Cafe, just have fun with it. Post photos to your page. Do a blog post, look at others' blog posts and leave comments, etc. You don't have to visit daily or comment on everything but there are some wonderful artisans here who make fabulous friends!

Hugs
Brenda

Alas, I know what it's like to have stuff going on so you can't get online -- hope everything's okay now?

Loiosh says 'hi', and also wants to let you know that ginger cats are the best. (He's a little vain, I guess. :)

Hi Christina,

I'm so glad that you enjoy visiting my blog. I have fun doing it, and it helps me to connect to "the outside world". Living out here in the country has its advantages but I tend to become a hermit and blogging has helped me to connect to others like I wouldn't be able to where we live.

Sorry that you have had computer problems (been there, done that myself and finally bought a new computer).

I hate moving, too. We are always looking at other places and dreaming of a bigger home with more land but then when I look at what needs to be done around here to be able to sell our place and I think of the hassle of moving everything, especially with all the animals, I think perhaps we should just fix up our place and stay where we are. We love the views and the friends we have here so if we can just fix the house up the way we want it. Money is always the issue though!

I hope if you have to move that you find someplace you like as well as where you are now and hopefully like it even better.

All the best!
Brenda

Great to see you here Christina!

Thank you! Yeah, I just stared doing the jewelry again, I have a lot of fun with it but it doesn't bring in a whole lot of money. Most of that comes from the soap and stuff. (Just going to quietly mention this, I don't want to be all BUY MY CRAP but I'm having a sale...)

I'm nearsighted too! It's so useful, I swear, I'd never get Lasik.

Your jewelry is really pretty! I love seeing what different people do with the same beads -- always something unique. And I really like the way you use the yellow in all of your photos, too, it really ties your shop together.

Good to meet you and the cats say hi!