holiday sparkle

I’m always a bit sad when the the brilliant colors of autumn fade into Seattle’s version of winter. There’s usually one good storm in November that tears the last of the leaves from the trees and then, gray. Gray skies, gray rain, gray mud. Until the day after Thanksgiving. Once that day arrives I assign myself free license to hang holiday lights and banish the gray for a few weeks. And banish I do. Lights adorn the fireplace and the bathrooms. There are nearly a thousand lights on my five foot tall tree. And lights greet me when I pull into my driveway each evening. Frankly it’s surprising the electric company doesn’t check up on us this time of year.
Three cheers for holiday sparkle!

the house scarf

My mother is petite and slim and one of those souls who gets chilled. In the middle of the summer she requested a “house scarf”. About yay big, holding out her hands. “And not too thick.” Thick, in this case, meaning wide, further conversion explained. I set forth with a soft, fuzzy yarn and for kicks crocheted it the long way. The scarf is only 10 rows wide. Upon finishing it I realized it needed a finishing touch. A trip to the fabric store resulted in a big button made of coconut and I was feeling like I might need a house scarf myself. I admit, I tried it on. And function won over fashion when I added a small piece of Velcro as a way to to hold the scarf neatly against the throat.
I surprised her with it on her birthday and it makes me super happy she requested another. “One for upstairs and one for downstairs.” Of course.

ucreate for inspiration

Two trig thumbs up for the gals behind Ucreate – http://www.u-createcrafts.com/ – a daily blog that I actually read every day. They funnel fun crafting ideas and DIY projects from matchbook sewing kits to pallet walls to my inbox and the amazing creativety of the bloggers they feature never fails to inspire me. Today’s post is a challenge – make two of your next project you’re planning to give as a gift, and make a second to give to a childrens’ chairty. Do kids like baskets? Maybe a hat. Inspiration is oozing through me.

trigonetsy is on etsy!

When something you’ve been dreaming about and working on for months becomes real it’s pretty darn exciting. I feel  like my pooch when she learns she’s going on a car ride… running around in circles and jumping out of sheer joy. And so, with a drumroll, here it is:
etsy.com/shop/trigonetsy

spectacular autumn

I’m sure the leaves are more vibrant this year than they’ve been in recent years. Is this our reward for suffering through an abomidably short summer? Whatever the cause, I’m appreciating it as long as it lasts!