 More tips to speed up sock knitting! Two things: metal needles (especially HiyaHiya - so smooth!) and small circulars (I use 9-10"). Will you lose a few stitches on the metal needles until you get used to them? Yes, you will, but ONLY until you get used to them! Take it slow at first but know that you will get used to it! Fast, faster, fastest! GO!
I took a class (in Spanish, with subtitles!) on watercolor painting, with a focus on the cosmos! What a fun thing to do - I learned so much about how to use watercolors, which had always been a pretty scary thing to attempt.
So, here is what I learned - with the proper instruction, all sorts of things can be learned. It's really more about motivation ("want to") that anything else. Interesting concept, that. Motivation is the key!
We raised monarch in the spring of 2020!! What a fun thing this was!! I saw some friends raising them on Facebook & decided to jump in. A friend sent me seeds for milkweed (the only thing monarchs will lay eggs on and then that's what the caterpillars eat) and they grew well! Then the monarchs came (and kept coming) and laid their eggs. We ended up protecting them from the birds and then watched them make their chrysalis and then emerge into gorgeous butterflies. The entire process took about 3 weeks - what an amazing transformation!! That's my husband in the middle photo getting a close up look at the chrysalis!
This video shows how intricately the chrysalis is attached to the structure. I pulled this off AFTER the butterfly emerged!
 This is literally how I start just about every piece of jewelry I make - I pull out the sterling silver wire. Oh, how I love this wire - so lovely, so many possibilities!!!
All the wire I use is sterlig silver - some of it is "regular" or traditional sterling silver. For some designs I use argentium sterling silver, which is still sterling but it has a touch of germanium which keeps the silver tarnish resistant - a very desirable quality! Click here to sign up for my email list to be kept in the loop when new jewelry designs hit the website!  I was looking through a magazine from a friend yesterday and found this incredibly beautiful art and new (to me) artist. Her art is inspired by the galaxy and photos taken by NASA and the Hubble space telescope. I am not a space savvy person at all but I am completely enthralled by the images taken with this telescope. So lush and mystical - amazing! FYI, the artist is BarbaraTakenaga....and my apologies to the artist for the bad photo - it was taken from the magazine.
-------------------------That little silver stacking ring? Available now on my website -------------------------- Click here to shop the rings!  Have you ever found a coffee mug that was just perfect in every way? The shape, the size, the color...well, for me, this is it! It happens to be made by my friend, Rocky Broome (www.rockyspots.com) right here in Baton Rouge! So the temptation is almost literally right in my own backyard to buy more of this beautiful pottery. Bonus: with Rocky's pottery, you not only get an amazing and useful piece of pottery - you also get a one of a kind painting as well! Win!
Those sterling silver stacking rings are available on my website - click here to shop now! I just added a ring sizer to the shop so no more trying to guess your ring size!  Wow - look at that handful of blackberries! It was a beautiful day for picking berries and my friend wanted me to see 1. the berries and 2. that she is loving her stacking ring!
Silver stacking rings are in my online store - click here to take a look!
 I cannot tell a lie - I saw someone else wearing this amazing nail color and I had to copy. It's summer, it's pandemic, I'm home...basically no reason not to try a new (and kind of wild) nail color. Every reason to try it. I am loving it.
Plus, it shows off my silver stacking rings nicely, I think! Those rings are in my online store - click here to shop the silver stacking rings!  One of the silver linings anytime you are forced to be at home (like in this pandemic, just as an example....) is that you are forced to kind of "dig deep" for inspiration and entertainment.
I was lucky in the fall to have had a friend teach me to knit sock which I was enjoying a lot. Now, during the pandemic/stay-at-home orders, I have been able to devote as much time as I want to this new hobby. WIN! As always, my sterling silver thumb ring (aka, stacking ring) accompanies me everywhere - I literally "never leave home without it" since I never take it off! Want one (or three) for your very own? Click here to see it in the store!  I posted this photo on Facebook the other day and a friend asked if it was green beans....seriously? I THINK she was kidding but....
Anyway, thrilled to announce that my little housebound airplant it going to BLOOM!! YAY!! Who would have thought it? I put this plant in this little vintage vase until I got around to finding a good spot for it outside and then, before I could do that, I noticed that it is going to bloom! Wow! Pretty exciting stuff!! That little silver "midi" ring (worn here as a thumb ring) is available on my website now - Click here to shop the silver stacking rings! This is one of my favorite tools to use in the studio & here's why it's also one of your favorites! It helps me create smooth edges on every piece of jewelry I make, it cleans off any discoloration on the silver, plus, it shines up EVERYTHING! Magical!
Now, we both love it! That little silver stacking ring (here worn as a thumb ring!) is available over on my online store - click here to go shop now!  Plus, well, ok a little bit of a chip on the nail polish...but I do love this color!! This is the large size of these silver hoop earrings that are intentionally not exactly round! A nice change from the really really round hoops that everyone has!
And the silver stacking ring (aka thumb ring!) Go here to shop the earrings now! Go here to shop the stacking rings!  Thanks, Amazon - I love you! During this pandemic, when I can't easily and safely get out, I know just who to contact when I must have some light gray nail polish!
Yes, it took my quite awhile (maybe over an hour...) to pick out this polish but, hey, I was enjoying the shopping process, ok? Like that little silver thumb ring? Me, too - I love thumb rings! Click here to shop the rings!  My son got me interested in airplants a few years ago and I am really enjoying having them around. Surprisingly, they do really well out on our deck!
I am so proud that this little airplant is having a baby!! It's just adorable, don't you agree? Can you see that silver stacking ring peeking out? It's on the website now - click here if you want to take a look!  I love cooking with fresh herbs - amazingly enough (at least to me) it really makes a big difference in taste. Spaghetti sauce is especially good with fresh oregano and basil! I'm just learning to use these herbs and it's a fun adventure!
Fortunately these two herbs love the extreme heat we get here in south Louisiana so I hope to have fresh herbs all summer long! Fingers crossed! That little silver stacking ring is available on my website - click here to shop the rings!  These little note cards are prints of original paintings by Louisiana artist, Shaun Aleman, from New Orleans. A sweet way to say "thinking of you"???
Honestly, just so much fun - Shaun is a wonderful Louisiana artist who paints on all sorts of things, including musical instruments - check out his art when you have a minute! www.shaunaleman.com That sweet little sterling silver stacking ring is available now on my website - click here to shop!  Adam K. Hall (www.adamkhall.com) has been an artist friend for several years and I have wanted to own one of his paintings for a long time.
Finally, this week, I ordered this wonderful, colorful print of a New Orleans streetcar! I absolutely love it; the colors are the hook! That little silver ring? It's on my website - click here to go shop!
Since we are staying at home alot (thanks to the pandemic) we are also doing quite a bit of cooking! I happen to love lima beans so last week I made a huge pot of beans with sausage - so delicious!
I just followed the recipe on the Camellia bag so thought I would include it here. Happy cooking, y'all! It's hard to see but that silver stacking ring is on my website now and, fyi, I am making more this week! Click here to see the rings in the store!  Don't you just love Alex Cross and his sweet little family? I do. Some of these novels are a little too graphic for me but, overall, I love reading about these characters. AND I just realized there are over 20 books in the series. Yikes. I'll be reading these for awhile......
That little silver band ring is available in my online store - click here to take a look and treat yourself to a little silver stacking ring!  I have known how to knit for awhile and have wanted to learn to knit socks for a couple of years. In the fall, I had an opportunity to learn remotely from a friend in Mississippi so I jumped on it and have been hooked ever since!
I love knitting these things and you know the best part??? I get to buy all this fabulously lovely yarn!! Oh my goodness. So much fun. I thought knitting socks would be hard but really they aren't. They have to be done in a certain way, of course, but not hard. FUN!! That little silver thumb ring is for sale on my online store - click here to check it out!  We have had a bay tree in the yard for a long time. It was given to us by the parents of a dear friend and we never bothered to use the leaves..... what were we thinking??
Anyway, last week, I decided to harvest some of those beautiful, spring green leaves and try to dry them! This is the first day - so fresh and green! I read that I should lay them out, not touching, in a shady place inside. We'll see how it goes! That little silver thumb ring/midi ring/stacking ring is available in my online shop - click here to check it out!  Shaun Aleman is one of my very favorite local artists! His note cards are so beautiful and wait til you see some of this other, larger art (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ShaunAlemanArt)!
I love notecards although I don't use them a lot. I try to buy cards that are handmade - they are like little works of art! That's my fave silver thumb ring - although of course you can wear it on any finger!! You can click here to check out the thin silver stacking rings!  For awhile now I have been growing rosemary and I always have it right next to both my front and back doors so I can easily put my hand on it to smell it. Glorious! I don't really cook with it very often - I'm not really sure how to use it in cooking.
This sweet little vase is handmade by my friend Rocky Broome (www.RockysPots.com) - perfect for a little sprig of herbs or my little pansies. Click here to shop the little siver rings! |
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