for my favorite holiday...

Some funnies for Jenn...





...and some fey for Lee




Love,
Colleen

On this day...

Happy Birthday Lee!!!

Through the Fall...

Ah yes ladies… I am a happy woman. New England in the Fall is HELLO gorgeous. We went out this past weekend to leaf-peep and this area is incredible. I love living right by the water… sometimes we can smell the ocean from the front porch. I see myself bundling up under a blanket this weekend sitting out there with my knitting and a cup of hot cocoa or tea. YUMMY!

I posted some pics… not a good view of leaves changing, but still so pretty. (weird, the next day it was like every tree changed) These are from a town right next door. From home, we can walk around the corner and WHAM!... You’re hit with a view of the water that can take your breath away (I’ll get pics of that soon). We climbed a big rock to look out over the harbor... I was a champ and even though I don't like heights, enjoyed the view. Getting down I shook like a leaf (ha ha, get it?), but it was worth it.





Let me describe my peaceful happy place. The one I’ll go to from now on whenever life gets me to stressing… This morning, while walking the dogs, I brought them into a little woodsy nook. While they sniffed around… I stood and looked up. All I could hear was the breeze rustling through the trees. Just then the breeze picked up and all these leaves started falling around me… almost like it was in slow motion. It was a picture perfect peaceful moment (say that three times fast).

Though living in that same nook, we discovered we have an owl in the neighborhood. Holy creepy sounds at night… so close to Halloween!

Back to crafting… I’ve been knitting like crazy! Now that I discovered the yarn store in town and an A.C. Moore 2 miles from work I’m in yarn heaven at home. I have one helluva backlog going for Christmas but at least I started early! And speaking of making a mistake... Son of a *&^%$ !!! (Are we supposed to curse while knitting?) I have been working on a dishcloth with a pattern that is IMPOSSIBLE to fix if you make a mistake (called English Ribbing). You have to rip the whole thing out and start over... Well... methinks I have just defeated the impossible task. Somehow I managed to pull out a bunch of rows (infuratied tugging was more like it) and wound up with a perfect row of stitches to pick up... I knitted (whilst holding my breath) and VOILA. I'm not out of the woods yet (tee hee...) but we'll see what happens...

I’ve been reading too… but I’ve only been able to squeeze in a few minutes before falling asleep at night. (Lee I still have the graphic novel you lent me staring at me longingly from my nightstand!) My mom and I love the author Karen Marie Moning. We’re both cheesy romance fans, but her books are different. Less cheese, good steam, and humor! She incorporates magic and The Fae too, again without the cheese. Her new Fae Series is AWESOME. It’s set in Dublin about a girlie-girl gone tough who can see the Fae and is basically out to destroy the bad Fae and avenge her sister. It’s got some naughty steamy parts, good humor, and it has Fairies. Nuff said ladies! I highly recommend it… Then if you like it, try the Highlander Series. They are absolutely delicious!

(The third book in the series... )

xoxoxoxo
Love,
Jenn

Let's break it down...

Hi there again ladies -

All three of us have been in the same water sogged boat....er, or should I say dingy???.......when it comes to reaching the end of a new project when *WHAM*...we notice it.....a mistake. Not just any mistake mind you. Uh-uh, I'm speaking of the mistakes that require us to break down the entire project back to itty-bitty square one. "HUMPH!" *sob*

When you first notice it you try to hold it at different angles and say out loud in your empty workshop, "No one will notice. If I hold it at this angle, you can't even tell."

BUT...you know it is there. Watching you. Making fun of you. Daring you to let it go...let it exist. Noooooooo! *ran screaming from the room*

Nah, just take it apart as that mistake will drive you to the edge of sanity if you care about your creations. Doesn't matter what you're doing either; knitting, jewelry, cross stitch, candles, etc. If you plan to give it away or sell it...you can't let a mistake out the door. Not only does it signal that you take pride in your creations, but it also speaks volumes for quality. Something each and every customer remembers and continues to look for.

What spurred this letter? *cringing with one eye closed* A silly little anklet. Yep. I missed one little rassin-frassin bead in the pattern (near the start of the strand by the way) and I gotta tell ya...it wasn't noticeable. But I couldn't let it go. Plus, if I noticed it then there's a 99.9999% chance that someone else will too. Know what I mean?

Bye for now!

~LeeAnn

Under Pressure...

Good afternoon!

So, as I mentioned the other day, I'm in the process of getting ready for a candle open house on Sunday... Which means that I am working diligently on pouring enough candles to accommodate a (hopefully) decent turnout of customers... (I'm being purposely vague here because as of the moment I have no CLUE how many people are actually going to show up) This is causing me just a little bit of stress!

Luckily, as I'm sure you both noticed, I'm one of those odd individuals who not only performs well under pressure...but who actually becomes 100x more creative and productive when working against a deadline :) Of course there is a catch. A BIG one. The paradox is that while the creative juices are flowing to the max and my energy (read insomnia) levels are very high...my ability to focus on just one task (i.e. candles) goes completely out the window.

As a result, I've accomplished quite a bit during the past week and a half:

Read 3 books



All were good, but The Host was the most interesting read.

Visited a historic landmark in NJ...



Where Mike bought me this lil guy...



His name is "Tootoot"!


Went shopping and got these for my office:





(a bit eclectic taste, I know)

Knitted this dishcloth...



And started another...



Don't they look great together?!?



Finished a runner for the living room



(Close up)



Worked on 3 "top secret" projects to be revealed at a later date ;)

FINALLY started working on my website - (preview soon!)

And of course, I've poured a whole bunch of candles... maybe I'll give you guys a sneak peek tomorrow...

Love,
Colleen