Playing in the Yarn

I'm having "one of those days" today.

We've had freezing rain ALL day.

So I've been playing with my yarn stash

and trying to get inspired to create something new.

This is the start of something...

...what??? I began a

couple of months ago.

Then it got put away ("out of the way") because

holiday activities became too demanding.

Now that I've gotten it out again,

I don't love it so much, so it's going to be unravelled

and hopefully reworked into something else.

Life is too short to spend it knitting something about which

you're not wildly excited.
So, although I've done lots of creative thinking today,

nothing has been accomplished...
I do plan to make some homemade soup later,

so at least I'll have something to

show for the day.

Remember this Yarn?

I always find it somewhat amazing that I can take some colored string, two pointed sticks and produce something from it. Do you remember me showing you this yarn last week?

The deed is now done and I have a very pretty and interesting scarf. The colors of the yarn are many shades of purple. The fibers included are mainly wools and mohair with a touch of metallic.


The scarf is knitted using a diagonal pattern. The combined yarns are my own boutique yarn I call FUSION, which are short lengths of different yarns, textures and colors knitted together and resulting in a unique finished fabric.
This scarf is now available in my Etsy Shop.

You must be sure to visit Susan at Between Naps on the Porch where she is hosting another Metamorphosis Monday. There you will see many other "before" and "after" projects.

Have a very creative Monday!

This and That

After spending WAY TOO MUCH TIME the past few days working on it, I now have a "real" banner for my blog! I've been blog hopping, looking for ideas and inspiration for what to do with mine for a while. I'm very much limited by my ability and knowledge of how things actually "work" here in blog land. Of course, there ARE people out there you can pay to design these things for you, but I'm a real DIY kind of woman. I will say, trying to figure it all out has been a great teacher and I've learned a lot. But, it's been a very slow and "trial and error" process. For now, this is what I have. It's better than the text title only I had before, but I'll probably be tweaking more from time to time!

I've just completed Elizabeth Berg's new book, THE LAST TIME I SAW YOU. It's a light read and somewhat predictable. The story follows several "sixty-something" year olds as they approach their fortieth high school reunion. Each coming with different expectations and life situations, the events of the actual reunion are not what was anticipated by any of the classmates. It's a story of second opportunities, and of how people are changed after forty years of life's lessons. Take it with you for a vacation read, but it probably won't stay with you much beyond your return home.



I've just started a scarf with these yarns. I know, I know...crazy to be knitting a wool scarf in August. It's a compulsion. I ALWAYS need something on my knitting needles. This is going to be finished quickly, so hopefully I'll show it to you in a couple of days.

Enjoy your week.

My Scarf is Finished!

My Scarf is finished!!!



Remember the small knitting project I started a couple of weeks ago? I took it with me to Greece and it was handy to work on during the two long flights and a several ferry rides.












I blocked it yesterday and here you see the finished result. I choose this skein of yarn because of the colors. I liked the idea of knitting with a yarn with lots of blue and turquoise because those of colors I think of when I think of Greece.

I'm happy with the finished result and have listed it in my ButtermilkCottage Etsy shop.

Something else I took to Greece with me is the MIMI Bag from my Etsy shop. This bag is new this year and up to this point had not been tried and tested. I used this shoulder tote as my "carry-on" all during the twelve day trip. I can now affirm it's a great travel bag.

I filled it with a hardback book, camera, cosmetics, travel documents, my knitting, three pairs of glasses, snacks, a smaller purse to pull out as needed, and other accumulated stuff. It fit beautifully under the seat in front of me on the plane and ferry. (Don't you just hate having to put bags in those overhead bins?)

It was also lightweight enough to carry on my shoulder when I needed to pull my larger piece of luggage from place to place. So keep this bag in mind if you need a travel bag this summer. I love mine!