I love Etsy: Check these foxy napkins!

Dear Shayne,

I bought the cutest damned napkins in the world this week from Etsy seller Cakehouse. Check them out:


We already use cloth napkins at home, but these cutie pies are for my lunch bag. They're made "from secondhand sheets and hand-printed with water-based inks." Every time I've eaten lunch this week, I've seen this little foxy guy and giggled. Whee!

I also love how Cakehouse got her shop name. From her profile:

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what's with the name?

susie: so, i've been trying to email you all week, since you gave me your new email address, but it keeps bouncing back.

me: are you sure you had it right? it's k couse at verizon dot net.

susie: oh.....i thought you said "cake house at verizon dot net."
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Hee hee! That totally cracks me up!

Foxy napkins are available here. She's also got kitties and llamas -- check out her shop. Cute-ness!

love,
kelly

Squirrel postcards

Dear Shayne,

I have a fondness for squirrels (you may remember this tray I bought last year) and I have long been admiring this squirrel print at OrangeWillow's Etsy shop. Lo and behold, she was at Bazaar Bizarre this past weekend.

She had that print, which I almost bought, but why buy 1 squirrel when you can have 5? Granted, 5 smaller squirrels, but still: FIVE! Yes, I bought 5 assorted squirrelly postcards. It doesn't look like she has the cards for sale in her shop right now, but she does have plenty of great prints, so go have a look!

I am going to frame and keep this guy:


Of the others, I am having a hard time choosing a second favorite. But I like this one:


And these two dudes are pretty fun:


I will probably post them around the house for my enjoyment for a bit, then send them off so that others can enjoy them too. But that first guy? Yeah. He's staying with me.

love,
kelly

Our house smells like cotton candy

Dear Shayne,

As I mentioned yesterday, I went to Bazaar Bizarre at the Maker Faire this weekend. Of course, I bought a few things. One of those things is, right this very moment, making our house smell like cotton candy. Mmm!


I bought this delicious smelling candle from i melt with you. The candles are great and so is that name -- There's nothing you and I won't do! Hee hee. (I've had that song in my head since buying these.)

In addition to the sugar-y sweetness you see above, I also bought one that smells just like cake. Mmm-mmmm!


I love how clean-burning and tasty-smelling soy candles are. You can buy your own right here. They say "Pleasantly Scented" on them, but trust me when I say that that's an undersell -- they smell fantastic!

love,
kelly

I met the Yarn Harlot!

Dear Shayne,

Yesterday was a day made in crafty heaven. In the world of knitting, there is a very gifted and talented individual called The Yarn Harlot, also known as Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. She writes a hilarious blog and books about knitting and life -- even if you're not a knitter, her blog is fantastic and you should check it out.

Some knitter friends and I (Hi, Jan! Hi, Katie! Hi, Hollie!) went to the Maker Faire where the Yarn Harlot spoke and was, of course, hilarious. Really funny. She talked about knitters and knitting and had many true and funny and interesting things to say.

One thing that really struck me as true and funny was when she said (I'm paraphrasing): People think that knitters are generous. But [and I can say this because we're all knitters here], the reality is that we give things that we knit away because they didn't fit.

I burst out laughing when she said that because, as you know, I recently gave my Knucks to my mom when I finally conceded that they were too small for me. I laughed so hard and so loud that Stephanie heard me and said, "There's a lady who has recently given something away." And it's true!

We were sitting in the front row, which was great. She always takes pictures of the crowd, so you may even be able to see us in the photos when she posts them. I'll post a link if we show up there.

After she spoke, she signed books. This part is kind of a blur for me because I was super-duper nervous. I babbled a lot and it took me about 30 minutes to come down from a nervous high after we spoke. But she was great. Just great. Charming and nice and just what I would have hoped.

Here she is, signing my book:


And here is my signed book:


Of course, I made buttons:


It's the next day and I'm still a little bit buzzy about the whole thing! Whee!

love,
kelly

PS -- I also bought some stuff at Bazaaar Bizarre, where there was an amazing selection of crafters selling their wares -- I'll post about that later.

Whee! Yarn in the mail!

Dear Shayne,

Last week, I got the best kind of package in the mail -- an unexpected gift! Yay! Plus, it was yarn! Double yay!

Last time I was in Ohio, my parents were telling me about all the alpaca farms in their area. I said, "Hey -- I'd love some local alpaca yarn!" (Mmmm... alpaca.) And lo and behold, here it is:


My stepfather works with this guy, Jim, who also raises alpacas. Pretty cool, eh? So I guess they got to talking about how I'm a yarn junkie and Jim gave him some yarn to send me. Isn't that awesome?! I'm so lucky!

Jim and his wife, Judy, have a farm called Slow and Easy Alpaca Farm (you should check out that site -- cutey pie alpaca photos as well as interesting alpaca facts). They keep some of the fleece to spin and send the rest out to a co-op called America's Alpaca.

The yarn I got is Classic Alpaca. It feels terrific and I am blown away by the color selection -- if you can imagine a color, they make it. The colorway of my yarn is 1633 "Horizon." Not sure if you can tell from the photo, but it's a lovely grey with hints of lavender and blue. It's like a cloud.

I don't know yet what I'll make out of this -- I'm just fondling it for now. But when I do make something, I will, of course, post photos.

Thanks so much to Jim and Judy for this yarn -- I love it!

love,
kelly

PS -- The internet claims that even people with wool allergies can handle alpaca. Perhaps alpaca would work for you?