Keeping Busy

I say that a bit tongue-in-cheek. I'm struggling to keep busy these days. January has been hard, for some reason. I think I slipped into a bit of depression and found it difficult to motivate myself to do much except what was necessary. I also find myself unusually disinterested in my usual creative pursuits, which is worrying. But I hope as the outside world warms and brightens, so will my inner world.

My handspun yarn from all those many months/years ago has been sitting in a bag.

I stopped spinning alpaca fleece partly because I didn't know what I wanted to make with it, and I couldn't sell it. At last, I saw this cool sweater on a friend's facebook page and asked her if she'd send me a photo. She did.

I love the shape, the collar, the bulkiness, and I could see a sweater like this, made from my handspun yarn. The body of her sweater is purl stitch, while the placket is knit, and the bottom edge is ribbing. 
My yarn is not as bulky as that -- some spots are quite thin -- so I need to augment it with another complementary yarn. My yarn is rather pale pastels, so I chose a white. I was quite limited by what's in my yarn stash; what yarn do I have enough of, to make a sweater? I have 6 skeins of this:

It has a little sparkle to it, which I'm not wild for, but when I combined it with the handspun yarn, I think it looks okay.

I'll probably have to spin more yarn, which will be a good motivation to haul the spinning wheel out of the corner and learn how to spin again, haha. A sweater takes a lot of yarn. I was tired of scarves ... So Many Scarves.

In addition to daffodils, now our Japanese magnolia is blooming also!

 Monster Egg update: This morning I found an itty-bitty egg, the first egg laid by one of my new pullets. So sweet! Look at this baby, next to the Monster!

 When you have hens, you get such a delightful assortment!

 I was busy filling a good-sized watercolor card order, but I did paint this one too:

 Are you wondering what Adam's whipping up in the kitchen? This was lunch today:

All I can say is WOW. It was delicious. And if you want to learn more about baking a perfect loaf of bread, just view this:

Happy Valentine's Week to you all! Thank you for stopping by! Your visits and comments cheer a girl up :)

The Happy Birthday Set

A friend's post on facebook inspired me to try a new card. The first one was so fun that three more followed.

Speaking of birthdays, a friend had one this week. At prayer shawl this morning we celebrated her, and I made a cake. Yes, I did. Miracles do still occur!

Lemon poppyseed

It was a large bundt cake with four eggs and a cup of sour cream. Delectable. Rather than a sugar glaze that purports to be lemon but is really just sugar and sits atop like a helmet, I wanted a tart lemon glaze that wicks down into the cake. The glaze was 1/2 squeezed lemon juice and 1/2 sugar, warmed just until dissolved and drizzled into the holes I poked in the top of the cake.

To offset this decadence, Adam and I had a salad last night.

 We staved off snackiness with mac/cheese and fried okra, however.

Our lime tree is blooming after losing most of its leaves.

 And an ornamental cherry (or plum??) is at its fabulous stage.

 The crocheted shawl is done and delivered. A second one is now underway.

Really, life is rather delightful right now because our church is such a happy place. They are a bunch of sweet people and there is no snarky conflict. We are so thankful. Adam's philosophy of church work has been quiet, steady perseverance. Waiting, which is what God usually asks us to do. I pray it continues. As far as my sorrows (which we all have) I am learning slowly to keep them wrapped tightly in prayer. It softens their painful, sharp edges and reminds me to trust them to the Lord, who designs and implements my future, where those sorrows will have their end.

Wherever you are, I hope spring has arrived and you're surrounded with bird song, blossoms against blue skies, and growing things. 

Whimsy Ink and Pretty Yarn

I painted that one whimsical flower card that I showed you in the last post. Since then I've painted a few more ... so they do kinda look all alike. But they are so much fun! At first I thought the black ink on the flowers was just too silly, but now I like it. Here are a few more:

 Before the ink highlights (above) ...
And after the ink (below) ...

 A taller vase:

 A sloppy, overflowing vase:

This morning's vase:

Well, enough of those! Who wants to see some pretty yarn that I discovered today in a yarn store near the beach? Sweet little shop. Here's their card:

Here's their website.

 The pictures are extra big so you can almost feel the yarn :)

 The yarn below was so gorgeous! It's dyed by a lady in New Bern.

 Here is the rest of her display:

Somebody in the shop made these baby/toddler pants. Aren't they hilarious?

She called them "monster butt" pants.

We suddenly decided this morning to take the day and drive to the beach to check out an old motel where we stayed 5 years ago. They did storm renovations after Hurricane Irene. Then we ate lunch at the Crab Shack ...

shrimp burger and fried okra

Took a stroll to the beach and saw them trying to reclaim the beach after the hurricane (!!!) ...

That giant tripod machine on wheels (with two men atop) went way out into the ocean, and came back, and went out again. We never could figure out what he was doing.
And enjoyed riding the ferry ...

Much of the Same ...

 I worked on the piece above, trying to fade out some of the black outlining, giving it a hazy look. I think it's much better.

 The one below is the worst one, I fear.

 I watched more of the videos and worked on these two today. Here's a beginning:

 Here's the finish:

 And one more. These are alien flowers.

Hot cocoa and buttered toast today:

A fun find at the store, thinking of Little Baby who is coming!

More crocheting, using all the leftover bits of fluffy yarn.

 This one will be for the prayer shawl ministry.

We've had temps in the mid 70s, open windows and warm soil.

Spring is certainly on its way!