A Crafty Yarn

Here are a few of the artsy things I've been up to lately.... Knitting...I've been knitting washcloths....I hadn't been able to knit with cotton in the past but my new friend Paula told me it was because I was using ridiculously small needles....and she was right.... Making Christmas Ornaments...... This is a technique that I had seen done using re-inkers and ultra fine glitter...The colors are pretty random but that's because I used what I had on hand since I didn't know if it would work out or not....and it did! A couple colors were a bit dark...But watering the reinker down doesn't work so I will just need to get a few new colors. The orange one was meant as a joke for John...the Longhorns fan...but I actually like how it came out....too bad nobody I know has an orange Christmas theme :) I've been meaning to scrapbook John's horse pictures but I've been waiting for just the right stamp set...I got it in the mail and couldn't wait to t...

Okay...I'm over the homesick thing so now I think it's time to make a list of some of what I love about being here..... It's ZONE 7 for pete's sake!!!! There hasn't been frost yet and I have over 100 peppers still ripening in the garden...unheard of Up North! Crepe Myrtles Magnolias Honeysuckle Mountains Trees...no but really...MANY, MANY trees! The accent Men...they always let women go first, hold the doors, etc. New friends Heifer International is based here.....if you haven't yet checked them out...please do! Fried catfish (in cornmeal) with hushpuppies and green tomato relish! See...there really is alot that I love about Arkansas...and in closing let me tell you about the event that started my love affair with this place: I hadn't been down here too long when John brought me to the Quitman Catfish Barn....It's this great buffet restaurant in a tiny little town...great food, great atmosphere... Well...we got there and it was just packed..so we were s...

Well it's one of those days....I'm homesick. It's always worse in the Fall because my body tells me it's time to get ready for the cold and snow...and my head tells me nope...not gonna happen. Why am I homesick?...What do I miss about being Up North? Unless you're from there ya probably won't understand some of them...but these are just some of the things I miss: My family! Girlfriends Other people who say uff-da! and oh ya?! Ole and Lena jokes. Bars...no but really...there are very very few bars down here! Cribbage Polka Venison My mom's kitchen Snow Cold...REAL cold! Good sweet corn...it is NOT the same down here! That last fall day when you rush to get the last of the outside work done...because we're expecting the first foot of snow that night Mardi Gras (Ladysmith) The Mall of America Grand Ave. at Christmas Ugh....there's so much more...but I've cried it out and now I'm over it!...Back to life in the South...which is starting to grow on...

I've been facinated for the longest time by Mehndi. For those of you who don't know, Mehndi is the application of henna to the skin using sybolic patterns and designs. The henna dyes the skin a beautiful copper color. Much of the time Mehndi is used as a way of honoring a meaningful event. In recent years it has become popular for pregnant women to have these symbols painted on their pregnant tummy. I want to be able to do this for my clients and others who choose to express themselves with this art so I've been practicing some of the various symbols. I have a long ways to go before I'm accomplished enough to do it for others! Here is a picture of my hand after I was practicing on it with marker...Sorry about the quality...It was taken on my camera phone:

I have been wanting one of those small greenhouses for a very long time and a while ago I found this one on sale at Hobby Lobby! I couldn't believe it when I saw these pricetags: I asked the cashier why it was priced so low she told me that it was the display model and it didn't have a box or instructions...Well I snatched it up! And voila!...

My sweet boy Jake had to spend today at the vet's. He needed to undergo general anesthesia to get some x-rays and get his teeth scaled and a few removed. This wouldn't really be newsworthy with another dog but since Jake is a bulldog there is a greater risk of complications under anesthesia....Thankfully he came out of it just fine!!! YAY! I was trying not to worry but it had me on edge! The vet told us that he has hip dysplasia in both hips. He also had to get 3 of his little tiny front teeth pulled because they had some issues. Jake is the best dog ever... He is kind and caring with Lola: He has a gentle spirit: He Even takes time to stop and smell the flowers:

As it's been so hot lately.... I've had plenty of time to spend in the craft room....Here's what I've been up to this week... Painting with ink:   I've also spent a bit of time doing some dehydrating... The basil plants are out of control!    It's much to hot to bake bread so I dried our over-ripe bananas to make some snacks.   We got a batch of apples that had almost no flavor! I sprinked these with cinnamon and sugar to make dried apple chips... yummy!

I made this basket a while back and I can't believe I forgot to post it! I found some great directions online so anyone who wants to try this can message me and I'll send you some links! Here is an upclose look at the weaving....

I love figs! LOVE them! They are so tasty. My mother in law Amelia has a gigantic fig tree in her back yard and while we enjoy eating them fresh...We also like to have fig jam...So yesterday I picked a bunch of them and when I got home I canned some up! From this: To this:

July is coming to an end and it's HOT here in Arkansas!!! The heat index has brought our temperatures to over 100 every day for the last 2 weeks! I've been doing most of the gardening/yard chores at night to escape the worst of the heat but even at night it's well in the 90s! The garden has been giving us a beautiful assortment of veggies everyday! I've been really concerned about the amount of trash we have every week and as we don't really have a place to have a compost pile...I turned a trash can into a composter and it's been wonderful!...It has already cut the amount of things we throw into the trash at least in half! Did You know that you can compost: Paper napkins/Paper Towels Freezer-burned food Pet fur Post-it notes Wood Hay Popcorn (unpopped, 'Old Maids,' too) Dryer lint Old spices Pine needles Leaves Matches (paper or wood) Hops Manure Pet cage cleanings Grass clippings Vegetable peelings Unpaid bills Hair clippings from the barber Sta...

BEHOLD.....el pepino hermoso..... The container gardening is going GREAT! We've had so much rain this year that I was afraid I wouldn't get much out of the plants. I have lost a few to the over-watering...we won't be getting any squash or zucchini...and I lost 3 jalapenos. Obviously the cucumbers are growing!!! I can't wait to make refrigerator pickles!!! The tomatoes are doing incredibly well...as a matter of fact...They are so much taller than the cages and have so much fruit on the vine that John had to put hooks in the fence so that I could tie them up! The peppers are out of control...Bananas, jalapenos, cayenne, and habanero are all big and beautiful! Herbs are fantastic with the exception of the cilantro...I'm not sure why....maybe it feels my negative energy towards it...Uuuuugggghhhhhkkkk!

This beautiful guy is a Tomato Hornworm....we call him The Tomatinater...    He had a delightful time destroying part of the Mountain Pride tomato plant...Luckily we spotted him before he ate the other half!    

I LOVE vacation!  I've never had one before...but now that I've had a taste I am hooked! We were sitting around the house at the beginning of last month and up and decided to drive to Branson, MO for a few days! We made some reservations,packed the dogs in the car and went on our merry way!  First let me just say this....NICE,VERY NICE! I'm a little bit in love with the total freedom of having no real chores or schedule!! WOOT! The vacation was great but the VERY best part was the drive! The scenery is astonishing. There were times when I was speechless and times I would feel like laughing out loud at the beauty of it all. The main strip of Branson seems like a miniature Vegas. We planned on seeing a few shows but were really more interested in really seeing the town.  Driving around we were thrilled to discover the historical downtown of Branson which seemed to have a much more healthy energy than the strip did. The real treasure in Branson though is the natural reso...

It's Spring in Arkansas...and we do love our festivals!...We took a drive this weekend and found ourselves in Mt. View during their 1st annual Artisans market on the Square. It was great fun! One of the booths belonged to Shawn...a man who was selling his handspun and woven fiber art and he gave me some great tips on hand spinning that I really needed! His work was beautiful....Unfortunately I forgot my camera at home :( Next we saw something that completely wowed us...Skip & Racheal Matthews Flame Painted Copper....copper that was painted with fire!...This picture of the dvd he produced: It really doesn't show the depth and scope of his art...I'll try to find his website and add more pics. We moved on and were really inspired by the pottery of David and Becki Dahlstedt. Here is an example of their work: Next weekend...Spring Fest in Heber Springs

WOW! What a difference just one day can make! I took this picture of newly bloomed daffodils.... and only 24 hours later they looked like this... We were having the nicest spring weather...in the 60s and then last week...we got this freak snow storm! This is taken from my front porch........... .................These WERE hens and chicks (The plants not the birds)......sad....... The snow lasted for several days and now our tempuratures are in the 70s! Go figure....

Here is a fun way to reuse a milk carton...

These two are the shiny parts of my every day.....