tea (or perhaps hot cocoa) + talk

a hot cocoa and polka dot pjs sort of morning

the delightful melissa (of melissa loves) and the fantastic ez (of creature comforts) interviewed me for the tea & talk series melissa hosts on her blog each week. you can check it out here. thanks to you both for inviting me to tea & talk! i had such fun answering these questions.

it is snowing again here in the seattle/tacoma area. huge straight from my childhood sort of snowflakes. it makes me so very happy. (it so rarely snows here.) i knew i just had to have hot cocoa with marshmallows on a day like this. hope your world is filled with some happy today...

etsy gift ideas of the yarn variety and sounds of the season

some warm and toasty gift ideas (from left to right)

1. either-or capelet from fringe
2. a rose in a snow forest hat from tomokotahara
3. leg warmers from black circle
4. toasty super cowl from tea with toast
5. daisy wheels scarf from kanokwalee
6. cuffs from while they play
7. cashmere ballet slippers from adventuresofjr
8. grass green pom pom hat from kanokwalee
9. coffee and cream neckwarmer from tickled pink knits
10. lollie goes visiting hat from jmaccknits
11. blue pebble twins gloves from knithappens
12. veronique cowl from hand me down

*****

sounds of the season

did johnny mathis sing in your home when you were a kid? i can hear those records drop on that old extremely large record player that was outside my bedroom. i can hear those records drop and then at some point this song would come on and i would find myself dancing a bit and peeking down the stairs to see the corner of the tree in the living room. i bet i was hoping for a cabbage patch kid...

(i have decided to post my december views posts by themselves toward the end of the day, and my "sounds of the season," gift ideas, and other wordy posts at other times. at somepoint in the wee hours of the morning while i was sewing away, i had this realization that i could do whatever i want. so look for december views later today.)

eight places to go (and two girls, two clicks)

1. shedding (me) 2. holding on (geek girl)
photo collaboration with miss geek inc, week 10
two girls, two clicks

places to go:

kelly's post where you can make a really incredible difference in one family's life (and maybe win one of her paintings!)

jen's post about living your life in your way on your path

denise's new baby's photos (he is simply adorable)

susannah's and alicia's favorite things

dar's view of autumn

the world of skunkboy creatures

the dolls and creations of christine alvarado (i adopted isadora in the last update...she is gorgeous)

the very special intimates at under the root (have the bloomers and LOVE them)

discoveries. inspirations.

waiting future, st. patrick's park, indiana. 8.3.08

catching my eye:
melissa's new fabric collection (and her delightful blog)
heather ross' blog
linda's new hats (i bought this one)

inviting me to feel less alone:
the words and truth of jen lemen
christine's authentic sharing

filling the well:
hearing jonatha brooke sing this song live and in person (and looking forward to hearing her again soon at squam)
the spirit of kindness girl (love this recent post)

what's catching your eye...
filling your well...
inviting you to feel less alone...
i'd love to know.

caught my eye (at the farm chicks show)

i had a class with tammy gilley at art fiber fest, so it was fantastic to see a familiar smiling face from the booth diagonal from me throughout the farm chicks show. i am in love with the gorgeous belts she makes (see them here) and can't wait to see her quilt patterns when she unveils them later this summer. tammy and i seem to really get each other, and i look forward to cooking up some fun things with her as our friendship grows. that girl just makes me smile.

heather bullard of the present past collection was directly across from me. have you been to her gorgeous online shop? i was drooling over her booth whenever i looked up at it. it was filled to the brim with vintage and vintage-inspired goodness. i have seen heather in quite a few magazines lately, and it was wonderful to find out that she is as delightful in person as she seems on her blog and in those articles. i must admit that i regret that i didn't buy two of these, as they seem the perfect size for just the right amount of gumdrops or other candies i find myself drawn to lately or the perfect place to put keep the buttons i am using for certain projects.

bari j was also in the same row as these women, so i was able to see her incredible handbags and other delights in person. her booth was an explosion of fabric goodness. this bag is my favorite. the crafts(wo)manship of her bags is truly beautiful. go visit her shop to see what i mean. i have a feeling that bari is on one incredible adventure with her creations and i can't wait to see what she thinks of next...

i had fun helping the super cute adrienne during the last few minutes before the show opened. somehow i was just in this zen place when my booth was ready, so i asked her if she needed some help (as it looked like she did). as a result, i was able to peek at some of her very cool treasures and later bought a charm bracelet for myself and a little gift for a friend. her booth was very french inspired...i loved it! visit her at her website.

i did get to visit with teresa briefly, but didn't have a chance to see her booth. however, i have spotted some pretty incredible treasures on her blog here. teresa was one of the first artist's i bought anything online from a few years ago, and it has been so cool to see the direction her business has taken. she is adorable and i hope to spend more time with her at some point in the future. and i hope to buy one of her pillows when they are next available...i really love the ruffle chandelier pillow...but the pink chandelier makes me smile too. such gorgeous designs.

then there is the beautiful miss rebecca of peace within. this girl made my whole day when i stumbled upon her booth during the last hour or so of the show saturday. we bonded right away. she has one of those personalities that just brings a smile to your face and invites you to feel like you have always wanted to know her. simply put: she rocks. as does her business. i bought a very cool hat from her and proceeded to wear it the rest of the day. it was my birthday girl crown that day in the form of an army green board hat with a wicked cool orange peace sign. as soon as i got back to the booth, anne wanted to know where i got it and quickly went to buy a hat and t-shirt (though i bet her son has stolen the hat by now and she needs a new one). i hope you will take a few minutes to visit rebecca's (under construction but still working) website and shop and consider buying a hat or t-shirt to spread the good news that is peace within. (the shirts are really, really soft.)

and of course there is stephanie lee. how i adore this woman. we had the best time next to one another...though i think next year it would be more fun being across from each other so that we could actually see one another from time to time. with a wall between us it was difficult to chat. stephanie's work is just incredible...from her plaster work to her paintings to her gorgeous jewelry. anne and i could have easily spent all our money in stephanie's booth alone. (i will share photos in a future post of the treasures i did come home with.) if you haven't visited stephanie's blog, you simply must. she has a way of talking right to your heart. (and, hopefully she will put a few treats into her etsy shop...looks like she might have added some today!)