Friday, May 20, 2011

Keepin' the Postmistress Busy!



Well, I think that adorable card just about says it all!!  Tomorrow's my birthday, and our poor postal carrier has been busy making tracks to our door all week long!  And what fun it has been for me!!  The card came from my most generous internet buddy, Jeannie.  She thinks of everything, and really puts me to shame with her extravagant gifts.  Here's the contents of this years haul:




I hope I don't miss anything when I start listing my treasure trove: dark chocolate covered cherries (which are truly divine!!!), a bar of 70% dark chocolate (which I know will be divine, but one must slog through the cherries first!), a lovely card stock stencil (that's it underneath the cherries), three skeins of the most yummy yarn you've ever fondled and/or laid eyes on, a huge bundle of Tyvek, and a wonderful piece of fabric with Oriental-styled motifs.  I know exactly what I'll be using that for!!  And I can't wait to get started!!  Thank you so very much Dear Heart!!!  Any one of these items alone would have been a joy to receive!!!


And just like so many other kids I know, I am drooling over the tissue paper almost as much as the items it surrounded!



I know what I'm gonna do with that too!!  ;-)


Another package contained this beautiful knitting bag from Kathleen Murphy:




Kathleen makes the most wonderful cloth handbags, and (lucky for me!) she and I have become blogging buds.  Several months ago I asked her if she would make me a knitting bag, and she agreed.  She wondered if I would like to dye the fabric, and I was quick to agree!  I also furnished her with some 'ideal measurements' and requests for lots of pockets, in various sizes, to house my needles (both straight and circular), plus patterns, and doo-dads.  I also requested that she use magnetic closures rather than velcro, so that my yarn wouldn't get messed up...and she told me she always uses magnetic closures.  So, right before we left for the beach, I mailed off my hand dyes to Kathleen, and voila: the bag arrived in the mail on Wednesday!!!  I just love it!!!!!  The handles are long enough so that I can hold the bag over my shoulder, and they are well padded, so they don't feel like they are cutting in.  The pockets are ample (I still haven't filled them all!), and the magnetic closures are perfect.


Here's a shot of the bag's inside before I started filling it



and here it is after being filled:




Vera Bradley: eat your heart out!!!!!

I took the bag in the car with me this afternoon, and it works well for knitting on the road.  ;-)  Please take a minute to visit Kathleen's blog AND her Etsy shop.  She does wonderful work and has fabulous color sense.  (and her lovely daughter is graduating from high school this week......so who knows where she found the time to make a bag for me!)  Thank you Kathleen!


And yes, I have been knitting in the evenings and in the car!  Last summer while we were in Asheville, I bought a couple of skeins of my favorite Malabrigo yarn. Two of my friends in my knitting group were making this cute scarf, so I asked to borrow the pattern.  After completing it, I still had a bit of yarn left, so Dr. Sock shared the pattern for this fingerless mitt with me.  I love the flared cuff, don't you!  




don't worry: I'm almost done with the second mitt....but then I hope to have a few months before I'll need it!


So, I've gotta go now.......the party's just beginning!!!!  :-)......and I don't want to be late!


PEACE

8 comments:

Karen said...

Happy Birthday Judy, I hope you have a fun day.

Cate Rose said...

Have a terrific birthday, Judy!!

Beverly said...

A very happy birthday to you, Judy. Enjoy!!

Joyce said...

Happy Birthday! And I hope you enjoy many many more in good health and happiness.

Elizabeth said...

Ok, how did I not know that today was your Birthday??? You share the day with my wonderful brother!! Tow of my fav people with the same B-day!!!
I also adore Kathleen's work and have gotten to know her thru her blog- love your bag!!! She lives right down the road from Wheaton college where I went to school. I do love those MA girls!!!
Have a wonderful B-day !!! Next time you come to Asheville please let me know- we could plan a rendez-vous!!!

Eva said...

We think it is luckier not to congratulate in advance, so:

TO BE OPENED TOMORROW

________________________________
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| HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUDY!!! |
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Eva Hagbjärn said...

Happy Birthday Judy!

I hope you have had a wonderful day!
Me and four of my siblings have been celebrating my Mom today, she became 85. We took her to a very nice restaurant, http://www.margretetorp.se/, and had a nice evening.

KRAM

Lisa K said...

Happy Birthday, Judy! I hope you had a great day!