Sock Yarn & KoolAid

"Every artist was first an amateur."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

These socks are very special to me. I dyed the yarn myself. This is the first yarn I have dyed that I am actually turning into something. The big secret? It was dyed with KoolAid!
This KoolAid to be exact. A little strawberry, a little grape, I threw in some cherry and berry and I am thrilled with the outcome. I purchased a couple more blanks because I really think I am starting to get the hang of it.
While I was at Athena Fibers in Sioux Falls picking up my needles for a class on Saturday, I asked about a sweater above the fireplace and came home with the book. It is a wonderful book with more patterns in it than I could ever complete.
But I am adding this one to my list of sweaters I will be knitting.....one day.....

This sweater is the next one, though. They are offering a class starting on the 26th and I may have been the first to sign up for it. It will keep me motivated to finish and the two shop samples are beautiful.

Garage sale finds. My friend, Penny, and I took off during lunch on Friday and found a couple of sales. I got this new leather purse for $3 and the doily it is sitting on for less than a buck. Must have been my lucky day!

Sinday Moments

Perhaps imagination is only intelligence having fun.
— George Scialabba

Yesterday morning, we woke to a cold house and no power. What to do? Go to IHOP for breakfast and the flea market for fun and warmth. Of course, there are always treasures to be had, resisting them is part of the mandatory budget in action. Above is a beautiful set of bowls I picked up for just $2.00. Although they look hand thrown, I imagine they are massed produced, but they are beautiful none the less.
This wooden hook caught my eye and the price was well within the parameters of my budget. Another great addition to my collection. I also found a basket and a wonderful inexpensive gift for my Mother that will just thrill her when it shows up unexpectantly in the mail later this week. She lost her favorite Samta cookie cutter but my Granddaughter and I unearthed the same one at the bottom of another basket for only $1.00.
We returned home in the afternoon to a cold house and no power. After a call to the electric company, we found out that if we took a nap, the house should be warm by the time we woke up. Talk about a dream, lazy day of doing nothing but fun things. The house was indeed warm when we emerged from our cocoons.

This photo is just a reminder it is time to start on more felted sewing kits for my handmade Christmas gifts.
I was reading through my sock-a-month club to find I was the winner of a beautiful skein of hand dyed yarn for the month of February. I totally forgot they did drawings. I am beside myself with excitement!