Snow!

We finally had a little snow last night.  IF my shovel and broom weren't packed away somewhere it would be easy to clear walks and the car. But a MOP had to suffice....

(If you look closely you can see it leaning next to the door.)

Killer Bunny is our snow gauge.  (He's about 2 feet high.)

Tracey's talk of weaving pushed me to get to the studio and work on my latest wool blanket.  I work in stages to save my back.  It is nice to finish all the warping one day, so that you can walk in and just start weaving the next.....very satisfying.

It's going pretty quickly with this simple pattern.  I will probably be painting at the house but hope to finish  this over the weekend.  Greg is driving to Florida for a week of "work" so I will have only Layla to give me a schedule!

Foggy Days of Winter....

It has been a wet and foggy several days. It started at as warm (hence the fog on the river, isn't it beautiful?) but now the cold is creeping in.  Greg struggles with this kind of weather, but luckily he is heading to Florida for work in a week.  Layla and I will stay here and continue to provide Quality Control at the house project.

But the tile is going in!

And the old cabinets have been placed as of this picture, but installed yesterday.

We just don't have the cash right now to do a full blown kitchen renovation, so we had the room gutted, the wiring replaced where we WILL want it when we do the rest of the work and new dry wall was installed.  I'm going by in a bit to hopefully find that "we" managed to salvage the old (ugly) counter top as well.

The house ended at the end of the cabinets in the picture.  Everything beyond is new.

Lesson learned. (AGAIN.) Expect a home renovation project to go over budget AT LEAST 10%.  We are beyond the bottom of the barrel now.....but it I think we will make it!

In the mean time I have decided this will not be a pottery month.  My folks are downsizing (I may post more about that...) so I have been helping them go through their treasures (being the closest geographically and the only daughter you KNOW some have come home with me.)  I am trying to get another blanket on my loom at the studio, but between being called away to put out fires at the house, painting radiators (golly but spray painting is hard on the hands!), working on a knitted sock commission and just my own lack of motivation with the yucky weather it isn't getting done.  (Throw in DVRd Downton Abbey....)

Maybe today...

And Layla's tail is nearly healed!  We will retire the Cone of Shame in a week or so.

(Her tail is even blurry because she's waggin' it hoping for a cookie!)

Merry Christmas!

The Latest

First of all I must apologize once again for the stellar pictures.....The last month has been such a blur I seem to rarely have the patience to dig out the camera especially when I have the camera phone in my pocket. A poor excuse. But there it is.

The mystery from my last post turned out pretty well I think.

I had hoped to knit these guys all their own winter wear ....but instead came up with a creative alternative.  SOCK toes! :)  (The blue scarf IS hand knitted and the other scarf is felted.  That's where the handmade stopped.)  The snowmen with 3 "balls" have removable heads for that secret post Christmas candy stash!

In the midst of the Christmas preparations Layla had a cyst removed from her tail.

She is not very happy with me.

I take her with me in the car this time of year to save her from having to spend the day in her crate.

But leaving her in the car she gets bored....

Hence the cone of shame.

We found out today the cyst was benign.

The BEST Christmas present ever!  She is such a faithful friend.  And will be 12 in February!

The house is coming along!  You can see them working on the siding here.This picture is only a week old and they have already dry walled the interior!

It's time to start doing my stretching exercises for all the painting I need to do.  It was a trade.  I paint.  And we can afford new storm windows for the old section of the house.

Here you can see the side of the studio.  Soon I will be able to wander out any time of the day and jump right into work.

I can hardly wait!!

Saturday's Craft Show

Anyone in the Fredericksburg/Richmond area?
Come to Montpelier Center (17205 Mountain Rd, Montpelier, Va. 23192 for you GPS lovers) in  western Hanover County on Saturday from 9 to 3.

The show does not appear on their website but I'll be there! So come on over and say hullo! It promises to be a beautiful day and I love to meet blog followers.

Shop Local Saturday!

SO Busy

Time is just flying by....My mother always said that the older you get the faster Christmas comes.  She was (IS) right!

I have been so busy.  Making pots, weaving on my looms, thinking/worrying/obsessing about the house and balancing all the other stuff in between.  No matter what I do the time seems to slip by, I manage to get most of what I need to do completed and the house is slowly coming along!

 

I am doing a show at the Montpelier Center in Hanover county VA on December 1 (9-3).  I don't know what to expect.  I was invited, which is nice.  But it is a small show, the booth fees more then reasonable and all the fees are going to a family who has recently lost their mother/wife.  So even if the sales are low I feel ok.  BUT that means working to have enough stock for the POSSIBLITY of a great day (it's all about the possibilities in life right?) and for all the holiday shoppers.

 

These face yarn bowls sell surprisingly well.  Who knew a weird sense of humor was so prevalent in the fiber world!

 

But I would not feel complete without my black sheep.

 

 

Lots to get glazed............

 

More work to process.  Feeling the time crunch!

 

 

Any guesses?

 

Finally weaving with my handspun yarn.  The yellow is commercially spun, but I decided I may run short of the handspun and had to supplement....

 

Yarn for sale!

 

Layla at the bank.  Before the drool ran down the side of my truck.  The ladies at the bank really spoil her with cookies.  She even expects them to come out of the ATM.

 

 

 

 

 

Foundation poured!  You can see the shingles for the new roof.  They started the roof yesterday (Saturday!) and will start framing on Monday.

 

We've had a few unwelcome financial surprises on the home improvement front.  The city required a storm water diversion plan.  Which has cost us over $5,000.  Money we were hoping to put aside for the other surprise.  It seems the current furnace may not be efficient enough for the added space.  Despite what the inspector believed.  (Note to self.  Call in a HVAC specialist on every older home purchase.....) 

 

But we are pushing through and hoping to keep all other unwelcome surprises at bay.  I don't have a picture but the studio is getting its new green siding. 

 

That makes me happy.