Kleas

home again

Alaska was more beautiful than I ever imagined.  The weather was gorgeous, the animals were out and about and I managed to get some free time from work for a portion of every day.  I took so many pictures and I love them all...I'll share just three here.

From a float plane near Juneau, flying over the glaciers.

Next, a tree I couldn't get enough of while at Taku Lodge.

And finally, the Misty Fjords from Ketchican.

  It was such an incredible experience, but it's also so great to be home.

I had promised a tutorial on the yarn scrap bowl I posted about earlier.  I'm no where near having that ready, so for those who are truely interested I'll let you know when I get that up here.  There are so many things going on...I have quite a few swap deadlines approaching...and projects I'm slowly finishing.  I'm excited to get to work on those things.  And it's with great thanks to all of you who provide me with so much inspiration and encouragement that I'm motivated to get busy.  Thank you again!!

thank you!!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by yesterdays post and to those who left a comment.  It looks like a tutorial is in order.  I'm very excited to give it a try as I've never done one before.  Check back after Memorial Day weekend and I will post it here.

Time to say good-bye again.  I'm on my way to Seattle for a few days before I head to Alaska.  Alaska is the only state I have not yet been to, so I'm very excited to go, but once again I will be missing this little guy terribly.  Work is work, and I'm leaving him in very capable and loving hands.  I'll be back again the 27th. 

One last photo before I go, to show off Manda's beautiful pillows that just arrived.  I think Peanut loves them as much as I do.  Manda does such amazing work and I am completely in awe of her sewing skills.  Thank you Manda!!

Be well everyone!!

whip-lash

I couldn't let the whip-lash competitions end without my giving it a try.  So here is my entry for this week.  Yarn Bowl.

                                              I wanted to experiment with different shades of white and different textures.  Here are the yarns I used.  

                                              I had high hopes of doing this post with a tutorial, because these are so fun to make and are a great way to use of bits and pieces of yarn.  It's also a great project for kids to do.  I simply ran out of time, but if there is an interest I will do a tutorial on a future post.

Now some photos of my bowl in action:

Happy Mother's Day

Today we celebrate all you great mama's, tia's, aunt's and grandmother's.  I wish for you all a day of happiness, lots of kisses and love!!  Happy Mother's Day!!

 

(card by rockscissorpaper)

Looking for the sun

I've been waiting for the sun to come out the past few days in hopes of taking some decent pictures.  My patience has worn out and so with bad lighting, here are three sweet creatures I bought when I was in Mexico last week.

They were made by the indigenous Mexicans in Chiapas.  I just love the rough texture they have and the lovely colors (although it is difficult to see their brillance here), and the hand stitched details.  And of course I appreciate the use of recycled materials!!

I'm in several swaps that involve thrifting for other people.  It was fun to look for things that others are interested in.  I found myself in sections of the store I would not usually go to...here are some of my finds.

 

(where have I seen that hen before?- I love Michelle's stitch work.)

See more here.

I love a good swap

Julie sent me the most wonderful package from the pretty birds swap hosted by Delila.  Everything was so beautifully wrapped, starting with the box it was mailed in.

And here are all the wonderful things that were inside.

Lovely bird wrapping paper, a sweet little nest and the larger one with eggs, two darling little boxes-one with a teeny red bird on it and two bird stamps inside, the other with a handmade glass magnet. 

Here are some close-ups.

and look at this darling gift tag she made.

Thank you so much Julie!!!  I just love everything!!

A warm welcome home

Work is always good for an otherwise SAH mom, but nothing is sweeter than coming home to my darling Peanut.  I arrived from Mexico early yesterday and we three biked to the annual May Day festival.  It was a perfect day for the parade, the puppets, and for just hanging out.  Today was not so nice so we escaped to our local conservatory so we could enjoy the flowers.

And when the rain stopped, we headed outside where Peanut discovered puddles for the first time.   Watching him just makes my heart sing!!

I was fortunate to have my own PC to use while away, so I was able to keep up with most of my favorite blogs.  I'm grateful because I may have missed out on reading about Amy's latest ATC's swap.  The spring swap was so much fun!!  And if you are just hearing about it for the first time here, there is still time to sign up, so head on over.

I also learned of Moki's hand carved stamp recipe card swap, which I haven't signed up for yet only because it's something I've never done before, but then she posted this tutorial and now I'm just so excited to give it a try.

I had one of the moments while in Mexico, where I was walking along, talking with a friend and when I looked up, I saw six or seven phone lines over-head with two birds sitting on them.  Just the night before I happened to see Mav's posting on her new cards and so I wrote her immediately to order some.  I can't say enough how much I love how this community makes me feel so connected to others, even when they are so far away.  Well, the cards arrived today.  I love this simple image.

I also couldn't resist the cards she made in collaboration with nebo peklo.

These are so lovely!  The color combinations are stunning, and I just love the gold she used (my picture certainly doesn't do it justice).

I also received the most beautiful swap in the mail today from Julie... tomorrow should be a better day for photos.

It's so good to be home!!  :)