Janet made her special chocolate chip cookies. They are the best I’ve ever eaten.

I could not resist eating both. Delicious and pretty too.

Lynda has recently retired and she is on a crafting bender. I can’t believe how much she gets done. Lynda and Viv have gotten hooked on these knitted bracelets. I think they are terrific and I want to learn how to make them and I don’t want to learn how to make them all at the same time. I’ve got so many projects to finish and I just can’t afford to get hooked on something new.

Lynda made the purple necklace and bracelet to wear to a wedding and they look so nice. It is wonderful to hang out with such talented women.

Here are both of them with their Heart to Heart Beaded Scarves.

The pattern is available for $6 on Ravelry and I might overcome my lace anxiety enough to try this one. It’s long and narrow and I think it’s very wearable. I wonder with some of the bigger shawls when you would have the occasion to actually wear them.

This is Cyd modeling Viviennes’ Vernal Equinox Shawl. OMG, doesn’t this look hard! I can’t even fathom attempting this one, but it sure is beautiful. The yarn is even more wonderful in person.

This is Viviennes’ Goddess Knits Spring Mystery Shawl. It’s called Flora and is available for $8 at Ravelry. I can’t imagine tackling this one either but isn’t it gorgeous? And I love the added beading.

Here is Susan modeling Cyds’ Grand Tour Shawl. She used two different lace books and made this up herself. She knitted some of it in Europe and some of it in Mexico, thus the name. Susan sure looks like she likes it doesn’t she? I wonder if all the shawls made it back to their correct owners?!

Look at all this wonderful food.

Janet made the enchiladas and I must say they were divine. Susan made a great lemon cake with strawberries on top.

Friends, food and laughter, what more could one ask for? !

Here we are on the train from Bruges.

We also went in search of yarn to bring home. I had researched yarn stores in Paris and all the blogs I read agreed we had to go to La Droguerie.  And they were right, the whole experience was a real trip. You could just look at samples of all the merchandise and when you decided what you wanted, you had to wait at the counter for a clerk to help you. The clerk would go in the back and wind up the amount of grams or meters that you wanted. We watched for a quite a while to figure out what we were supposed to do. Then I managed in my limited french to ask for the yarn, pattern, trim and buttons that we wanted. We both got yarn to make a fun little summer cardigan. I managed to take this picture before seeing the sign telling people not to take pictures.

Here’s my yarn and trim from there. I can’t wait to make it. Of course, the instructions are in French so I’ve got some translating to do first.

I would have been more than happy to come home with just the one project from La Drogeurie, so we weren’t actively looking for yarn during our trip to Bruges.  We just happened upon it and of course we had to indulge.  We visited this cute shop where we both bought some antique buttons and Kristy got two skeins of yarn. They also had some scarves,  hats, and bags that were made by local artisans.

Then we found the mother lode. This cute shop was CRAMMED with yarn. You could barely walk in there for the bags and boxes on the floor along with all the stuff that was on the shelves. The owner was a very sweet woman who obviously got a kick out of us. I ended up buying some sock yarn and some gorgeous worsted weight to make the February Ladies Sweater. (also a free download on Ravelry)

Here’s the loot:

Kristy bought some sock yarn too even though she has never made socks before. But we both figured it would be wonderful to have socks made with yarn we had bought in Bruges. It will be a long lasting, fun-to-make momento of our trip.

Peggy got the cards and matching envelopes from The Paper Zone. She cut out some strips of fabric, laid them down on top of the card, trimmed them to the correct length and sewed through them all on her machine. I think she was inspired by a pattern in a book but I’m not sure which one. Tell us in the comments Peggy!

This is the inside of the card:

I am definitely going to copy this idea because these would make such great gifts. And so fun and easy to whip up a set of four.

The other wonderfulness from the other day came from my good friend Vivienne. She got a spinning wheel several months ago and I’ve been giving her a really hard time about it. Things like: “how can you take on another craft”, “there is so much great yarn out there I can’t believe you want to spin your own”, you get the picture. And then she goes and spins me the most wonderful yarn for my birthday.

It’s sock weight and about 300 yards.  It is so beautiful, look at those great colors. I’ve been searching Ravelry, looking for just the right shawl pattern for it.

Another crafty thing I just finished were these two bags. They were gifts for two friends of mine and are fun and easy to make. As I was finishing the second one, it occurred to me that I should have taken pictures and done a tutorial. I will have to make another one soon and do that for you.

Today we had my birthday celebration. Whenever anyone has a birthday we do a pot luck lunch, cake and super snarky cards. Both the food and the cards were really good today. Cyd made these great little tarts with blueberries from her own bushes.

Susan brought a great quinoa salad with butternut squash, pears and pine nuts set on a bed of greens.

And Jennifer brought this beautiful, delicious champagne cake.

The card on the right was made by Heather. She chose a Parisianne theme because Rick got me a ticket to Paris for my birthday. My friend Kristy and I are going at the end of this month and we are so excited about it.

But I’ve got to brag about Jennifer today. This is what she’s been knitting this week. Yes I did say this week. She is making this as an auction item. I hope it sells for thousands. A knitted nativity. Unbelievable!

I am so lucky to be blessed with such good friends and family.

The other project I finished was the Thorpe hat for Rick. The pattern is available free on Ravelry. I used a chunky Malabrago and it worked up easily. Rick says it’s super warm and he’s been wearing it all the time.

Here’s a close up of the top. I love the color.

I cast on a new project to work on during the Olympics. I wanted to make the Zigzag Mitts by Jen Hurley but the pattern is really funky and I was hating it. She has you make the thumb separately. You work the mitt from the top down instead of starting at the cuff and then you have to graft the thumb to the mitt.  I was not having fun.

So I ripped it out and started “Mitt Envy” instead. This pattern starts at the cuffs, you increase to create the gusset for the thumb, put those stitches on some waste yarn and then finish the thumb after you’re done. It’s much easier. The mitt has a nice cable on the front to give it some flair. It’s only day two of the Olympics and I’m already half way done with the first mitt.

I think I’ll start a new pair of socks for Rick after I finish these mitts. Pictures to come.

I agitated them  too long when I was felting them and they came out a bit small.  I had to put them on my feet and walked around a bit in them before taking them off to dry. Believe me, it was not fun having cold, wet, felted shoes on my feet, but one must suffer sometimes to achieve that perfect accessory. And they were just perfect for my outfit. The theme for the party this year was Dr. Seuss, can you tell?

Last Thursday at knitting, Lynda brought her new felted slippers to show off. The pattern is called “French Press Felted Slippers” and is available through ravelry. I think they’re adorable. But look at that beautiful bag! Lynda made that too. She took a class at A Common Thread with Victoria Jones called “It’s a Wrap: Bowls, Baskets and Bags.

It looks like great fun but I’m going to have to tie my hands behind my back and say NO, NO, NO. No more projects until I finish some of those unfinished ones. I haven’t forgotten them.

They are so cute and I decided to make them as part of my costume for the Groundhog’s Day Party. This years’ theme is Green Eggs and Hog so striped elf shoes seems like the perfect footwear for a very Suessy outfit. But the pattern is proving harder than I thought.

The pattern tells you to make the heels with wrap and turns instead of the knit/slip way that I’ve always done before. I did finally make a heel but there are some pretty big holes that I’m hoping will “felt out.” We shall see. I’ll post a pic when I get them done.