Welcome February!

I am so glad January is over! I had two colds and a sinus infection, and apart from the brief cleaning out frenzy that commenced as I was recovering from cold #1, the month was not very productive. Two bright spots last week were in the from of packages from France! I received these goodies from Sonia...

And this Etsy order from Anna arrived the same day!

Thank you, ladies, for brightening a dreary week!

I've been crocheting some, and I made a birthday gift for a friend from an embroidery project completed several months ago. I started a knitting project and promptly frogged it when I realized I was being too optimistic as to what I could accomplish feeling as I did. Last week, I picked up a book that I put aside a while back, and now I find it hard to put down. Finally, this is the season for Masterpiece Classic, so it wasn't a dreary month altogether. However, I am hoping for more crafting in February, which should mean more posting as well.

The Gentle Arts

Last night, I finished reading The Gentle Art of Domesticity by Jane Brocket. It's been my bedtime reading for several weeks now, and I loved it. I feel like Jane is something of a more erudite and sophisticated English alter ego. She knits, crochets, quilts, does embroidery, and bakes.

The book is interesting and beautiful, and while I have read some reviews that accuse Jane of intellectual snobbery, I think she's being authentic. She is who she is, and all of her experiences have clearly shaped her domestic life and interests. I'm looking forward to trying most of the recipes, and I have already been inspired by Jane's love of tulips...

Yes, I Still Knit...

... and the formula for easing back into it after recovering from a seemingly never ending project is:

• Malabrigo Chunky
• Size 13 circular needles
• Super simple pattern
  

My completed Dolores Park Cowl...

My Handyman

My handyman helped fix my broken heart, AND he's handy with a pencil and rule!

Handyman

by James Taylor

Hey girls, gather round
Listen to what I'm putting down
Hey baby, I'm your handy man

I'm not the kind to use a pencil or rule
I'm handy with love and I'm no fool
I fix broken hearts, I know that I truly can

If your broken heart should need repair
Then I am the man to see
I whisper sweet things, you tell all your friends
They'll come runnin to me

Here is the main thing that I want to say
I'm busy 24 hours a day
I fix broken hearts, I know that I truly can

Come, come, come, come, come
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Come, come, come, come, come
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Theyll come runnin to me

That's me
I'm your handy man

If you're not familiar with the song, you can listen here.

An FO!

Finally! A finished object! I completed this pillow for my mother on Monday in preparation for her visit yesterday. I was pleased with how it turned out. Many thanks to Mary Corbet for providing the patterns for this wonderful alphabet!

Tomorrow being New Year's Day, I'm going to spend as much time as possible on creative pursuits. You know what they say...what you spend your time doing on New Year's Day is what you will be doing all year long.

Have a wonderful 2009!

Merry Christmas!

There has been very little online activity here at chez Kathryn Estelle. There has also been very little crafting. I  feel the stirrings of an FO frenzy coming on as I prepare to undertake a new project in January, so hopefully, there will be some items to post in the coming days. In the meantime, Merry Christmas!

The Winner of the Redwork Giveaway is...

Lovestitches

Appropriately enough, she has a redwork blog banner!

Congratulations, Steph! Please email me your mailing address so I can send you your goodies.

Thank you to everyone who left a comment!

My First Giveaway!

I have been the recipient of a couple of giveaways recently, so I thought I would share the love and have one myself. I am giving away PatternBee's Redwork Christmas iron-on embroidery pattern set, a red and white kitchen towel ready for stitching, a white fabric bookmark, and three shades of red DMC embroidery floss. (Click on the link to see all of the images included in Redwork Christmas.)

To enter, simply leave a comment on this post. I will close comments and select a winner at random on Monday morning at 11:00 a.m. EST.

Have a great weekend!

November Report

November 2008 Mosaic
Originally uploaded by Kathryn Estelle

Hello, my name is Katy, and I am addicted to the Internet.

I had no real struggle avoiding blogging or uploading photos to Flickr during my "month off," but I couldn't stay away from reading my favorite blogs and looking at photos in my favorite Flickr groups. I've thought a lot about the possible reasons for this, and I think it is because these sources are where I get so much of my inspiration. I have only a few artsy friends, and I'm not able to spend much time with them, so I get this particular need I have met online.

I wasn't as productive as I'd hoped to be. I finished the chicken embroidery for a pillow top, and when I completed it, I resumed working on my Birkenstocks design. The quilted table runner didn't get finished as I'd hoped. However, I did resume doing some drawing and art journaling (I have not posted ALL of my efforts!), which I didn't necessarily plan to do, but I'm glad that I did. Also, I made a little progress on my knitting and crochet projects. The last week of the month, the kids were out of school AND we got a new puppy, so anything I intended to accomplish THAT week, didn't happen!

Anyway, I'm glad to be back, posting as I'm inspired to, and interacting more often with my online friends who motivate me so much!

Edited to add: You can click on the mosiac to see larger photos, or you can go to my Flickr set here.

Her Name is Biscuit

I'm here, and I want to blog about my "month off," but I'm a little under the weather with a cold or something right now, so I just don't have the energy. I'll try to get something posted in the next day or two.

In the meantime, we named the puppy Biscuit—the one name everyone in the family could agree on. In the South, a biscuit is an unsweetened baking powder roll, not what we call a "cookie." My son is especially fond of them.

Now, off to bed.