in the pink

A closeup shot of the Bridget Poncho. I hope to finish it up by Monday night and present it to her at a special celebration of Team in Training. Yes, I'm sure you recognize some of this from my garter stitch scarf! This has been a real stash buster for me, and even more will be reduced when I get the 5" fringe done around the edge...I'm thinking of alternating some of these colors. And wouldn't you love it, if you were nine?
Here's Tara, an doll long abandoned by P. #1 and brought to light again this past weekend. Horsie Girl dug her out of the back of the closet and spent a few hours admiring her delicate form and trunkful of lovely clothes (the older girl never really did play with her.) Then she approached me with the idea of making furniture....and of course I just couldn't resist cutting up an old cardboard box and letting her choose the fabrics to stitch up this fantasy bed. I have an old Simplicity pattern for this and a whole roomful of furniture: loveseat, ottoman, chaise, dressing table with stool, etc. etc. Look for more accoutrements to come. What a great rainy weekend we had.
And look what came in the mail! All this great stuff came from one of my favorite catalogues.
(Oh and when you click on that link, try not to swoon...and don't think I'm not gonna steal that felt bunny-and-bag idea.) I stumbled upon a terrific blog a few weeks ago and instantly bonded with this woman... anyone that has as big a love of amanita muscaria as I do has to be a soul mate, right? Oh, you love these cute mushrooms too!?
First there's the wonderful knitting mushroom, just the classic spool knitter, but so comfortable to hold and immediately absconded by the 11 yo girl who kept saying over and over, "I am SO glad you got this, Mom!" And for the littlest munchkin, mushroom tiddlywinks. Who would have thought this game has been around for centuries! Such fun! And best of all, this delicious book was half price.
I used to be somewhat (wild) mushroom phobic, and felt nervous about handling them, much less eating something so....earthy. I know that sounds strange coming from a Pagan; part of Earth Wisdom is using caution with such powerful entities. But this book is helping me embrace them. The pictures are all gorgeous woodcuts, and there is folklore, science and gathering tips galore. Come to find out, I could probably be making a fortune from the chanterelles alone growing in my backyard.
I did see an actual Fly Agaric on a hike in Colorado once. They are even more magical in person.
If you really want a rush, check out these. Got to try that needle felting kit!