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The most popular sterling silver stitch markers is now a set called, you guessed it, the Most Popular Set of Stitch Markers for Knitting and Crochet! This set includes three of the most popular stitch marker sizes - the first fits easily over knitting needles US size 4 (3.5mm) and the second fits over knitting needles size US 10 (6mm). Perfect for those who knit socks (like me) or any project at all that calls for smaller knitting needles. Since these markers are open, they are also perfect for almost all crochet projects!
Another little set of sterling silver stitch markers for knitting and crochet! This is the "mini". This set of stitch markers includes one marker for each of the four original stitch marker sets: one extra small (for holding stitches), one small (perfect for socks and other small projects - fits knitting needles up to size US 4), one medium (fits knitting needles up to US size 10) and one large (fits knitting needles up to US size 15). A mini set of stitch markers to get your collection of handmade silver stitch markers started!
I don't think so! Anyway, this is another series we discovered during the (ongoing) pandemic. This show follows a man who recently lost his wife to cancer and how he manages (barely) to hold onto life. Ricky Gervais is brilliant as Tony and there are lots of other really good and interesting characters, too. His brother in law is just trying to help, the older woman he meets at the cemetary and the prostitute who befriends him. Not to mention the mailman, Pat. Warning - language may be objectionable to some (almost contant use of "f**k") plus lots of sexually explicit references. So, yeah, this little 3 season show is not for everyone! What did I do while we watched? I knitted socks, of course - what else?? Click below to shop the new sterling silver stitch markers!  Last week I wrote a comparison of double pointed needles, which I use for sock knitting. Click here to read a comparison of the needles. Anyway, since I wrote that post, I ordered another set of needles - the Nova Platinas. I ended up with a whole set because the price was right and I also wanted to try the 5" needles. Anyway, I think these might be my new favorites! Super smooth (like HiyaHiay) with a very nice sharp point (but not so sharp that they are as dangerous as the HiyaHiya Sharps!).  So today in the Good News Journal was easy - in fact, I easily found TWO good news stories! Whaaattt?? Woot!
I am not going to lie - today, only Day 2 of my little good news journal, I had a tough time finding even one news story that could be considered "good news". I finally settled on this, kind of the best of the worst plus a funny thing about Covid + the lovely silver stitch markers. I love them, so it's happy for me. While it is good news that Grand Isle finally had power restored, it is not so good that it took 138 days. That's a lot of no power days. Such is life on an island in south Louisiana, where hurricanes routinely disrupt everyday life ("disrupt" is putting it mildly; I am, afterall, trying to be upbeat here).  One of the things we learned early in our trip was not to trust Google info about the hours any particular place was open or even whether it was open at all. This is especially true to restaurants but other shops as well. Staffing shortages, illness (Covid, right?) and other factors contribute but, whatever the reason, we learned the hard way that, if you are counting on it, CALL before you go to make sure they are open. Google, like many of us, is having trouble "keeping up" at this time. Just call. And...for those hours in the car, bring a book or, better yet, don't forget your knitting!!! Need a new stitch marker or two "for the road"?? Go HERE to take a look at beautiful handmade sterling silver stitch markers!!
Always trying to knit faster? Need to get to the next beautiful yarn in your stash? YES! me, too. Here are a few tips for knitting socks a little faster!
First, pick a simple pattern. It doesn't have to be vanilla socks; it could be a simple pattern that is easy to memorize. Example? Ribbing is easy, especially if it includes a lot of knits & not many purls....like knit 5, purl 3! Easier/faster than k2,p2, right? Second, pick a heel turn style and stick to it for all your socks. Don't waste time searching a lot of different heel turns - google "most popular heel turn" and stick to it! Boom - time saved!!! (Most popular? The French Heel - just do it & stick to it!) More tips to come - stay tuned! Need some beautiful last-forever stitch markers? Try these handmade ones in sterling silver! Even the desert flowers are so beautiful. We were lucky enough this year to be in the desert when there had been some rain and flowers were everywhere! We also stopped by the Petrified Forest National Park (too hot to leave the car much) and also a place called Paria near Kanab, Utah, one of our favorite places! SO HOT!!!
Such a wonderful trip to Oregon and Washington to visit family (long overdue) and sell jewelry at two of the wonderful art shows in Oregon. It was unexpectedly hot (115 degrees!) but we had a wonderful trip! More photos to follow! Want to see the most popular earrings at the Oregon shows?? Click here!  These silver "triangle" earrings were inspired by the slot canyons in southern Utah & other places in the western, which are incredibly dramatic and beautiful. I have missed traveling so much over the past year - looking forward to visiting a few of these remarkable canyons in just a few weeks!!
Painted my nails is this SO COOL lavender color specifically to photograh these silver square earrings but then realized.....my cuticles are not "pretty enough". Bummer. Just crop it!!!  With family in town, we decided to go to the Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans. It was wonderful as always and, as usualy, the jellyfish exhibit was one of my favorites. (Followed closely by the albino alligator and the pregnant seahorses!) Here are the earrings inspired by those oh-so-cool jellies!!
These silver and quartz drop earrings are really hard to photograph, I think because of the crystal clear quartz. I love quartz - it has always been a favorite of mine. I was born and raised in Arkansas, which is where a lot of quartz occurs. So, I grew up with quartz all around me - it's one of the reasons I like rocks of all sorts - I guess rocks remind me of home! (Here in Louisiana, few to no rocks anywhere!)   Missing being able to travel! National Parks are kind of a passion for us and we have not had our "fix" of parks in over a year. With that in mind, these earrings were designed as a tribute to those fabulous archways that occur in so many National Parks in the western U.S.
If you want to see others in this collection, click here and here!  Part of my new collection, inspired by National Parks of the US. I have missed (and still miss) traveling so much over the past year and a half. One of the things we love to do is visit national parks in the western US.
One of the natural features you see in many of the parks is the archway. Eye candy! Plus, two of my favorite "gems" - freshwater pearls and "opals" (in all honesty, these are called "opalized quartz but, between you & me, I think they are glass but, who cares, really. They are amazingly beautiful!!). Want to shop the look? Click here! These new silver earrings are from my new, developming collection, inspired by National Parks. This past year, I have so much missed traveling to see my sons, and the national parks along the way. These earrings are inspired by the arches present in many of our wonderful national parks, especially in Arches National Park in Utah. Can't wait to get back on the road and see the sights in person again!!  Since I was doing a lot of knitting in 2020, I realized that I could make sterling silver stitch markers. I had the silver, I had the need and I had the know how. So I made it happen. Several different designs, all made by hand, one at a time in my studio in Baton Rouge. Turns out these are by far my favorite stitch markers. So clean and easy to use. 2020 was a year of surprises in so many ways.
I hope you found knitting or some other meditative, relaxing activity that makes you breathe easier during this time becuase, you know, it's not over yet. Hang on.
At the very beginning of the pandemic I read (on the MDK blog) the expression, "Bob's Your Uncle". After that, for awhile, I heard or read this expression in several different places and it captured my imagination - now my husband and I (well, mostly I) use the expression often. So colorful! So much fun in a world of so often bad news. Just a moment of lightness - sometimes that's all I need to life my day up a little bit!  Awkward segue: handmade silver stitch markers for knitting!!! Click to see!!
So, we have a new game we are playing at our house - it's called "What were they thinking?". We have a short list (getting longer every day) of folks who have, in our opinion, done things that really didn't make sense if they had thought it through. This is my opinion and my opinion only. So.....here is the list 1. The folks at the Capital on January 6th 2. The "Disney guy" - thought he could bypass the temp check at Disney with no repercussions...seriously? 3. Harry & Meghan....again, they expected NO repercussions?? 4. Sweden during the Pandemic.......  So that's my list so far; it could probably be a LOT longer but I'm being kind of fussy about what goes on it. It's all good fun, right?
Awkward segue: would you like to see some wonderful handmade zippered bags?? CLICK HERE!
 Another Netflix series I discovered, thanks (I think) to the good women of Modern Daily Knitting. This is overall a fun series although it certainly has it's dark moments. Celia is aggravating and sweet, Alan is completely sweet, Gillian is hardworking and grounded with sometimes frustrating behavior (how can she "fall for" some of those guys???), and Caroline is a problem solver struggling with reactions of others to her sexuality.
This series is a roller coaster ride and we watched every episode. That in itself says something doesn't it? Awkward segue (again). Want to take a look at the handmade bags? They are great for knitting projects or anything else you need or want to carry from place to place! CLICK here to see the handmade zippered bags!  Honestly, I really had only two reasons for watching this Netflix series: 1) recommended to me by someone I trust and 2) my mom was always highly interested in "the royals", I think because she was almost the same age as Elizabeth and clearly remembered her coronation as a young mother. So I kind of started watching as a way of honoring my mom.
 A friend recommended this Netflix series and, for the most part, I loved it.
It got a little dicey for me in what I call "the dark times" and, believe me, the dark times were VERY dark. I was very tempted to put it down a couple of times but kept watching really to see the interaction among the three siblings. Jimmy was a loose cannon but so charming, Billie was a pain in the neck but was always there for her sister and Nina was, well, frankly a mess in her personal life but absolutely spot on at work. I finally put it down for good in the last couple of seasons. Too dark, too consistently for me. You know, I like to watch TV for enjoyment - same reason I read books. Real life is often too dark - I need an escape from reality when I read for watch the "telly". Awkward segue: Would you like to look at the jewelry I make? :) CLICK HERE to take a look! |
 Hello!I am Laura Teague, a metal smith, knitter and sewist living and working in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and traveling the western US whenever I can! Categories
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