Wow, check me out.
This is like finding a pair of size 8 jeans that not only fits, but makes me look thin, too! The amazing, stupendous, talented ... and supremely patient ... design crew at Design A Blog has made my little corner of virtual reality really mine. Aaaah. This feels great. Not only cozy, but tidy too - if only reality would come into line with virtual living :-).
I've thought about taking this step literally since I started my blog. See, I saw Kiwi Jo's site and just fell in love. But I thought, "Ah, I'm only doing this for fun, no one reads it anyway. Real design is for serious bloggers." And other thoughts that all ran along the vein of I'm not worthy. But then Ash got her blog redesigned, and by then I'd acknowledged how much time I was spending in here, and (still amazing to me) other people were actually spending time here, too. So I took a deep breath and fired off a request. The fruits of that action are here to see (and to revel in!). Good golly, I feel like a kid with a brand new bike. Only better. Lots better. Grown up toys are ever so much more fun.
On the stitching front, since that is my excuse for playing here, I'm working on my first-ever SAL, a celtic knot bookmark designed by the talented and generous Kris of Dragonfly Stitches, a free-to-join Yahoo group that I can happily recommend. Kris provides free charts including some lovely blackwork ones, and the group is a nice place to meet other stitchers. You don't have to be an expert, either. Here is my progress to date. I'm using "Raspberry Sherbert" Caron Wildflowers on 28 ct "Antique Sage" linen. (I had this terribly weird sized scrap in my stash, and voila, it's perfect! Who says stash is naughty?) This will be a Christmas gift for one of my aunts (yes, another one - I have many) who is the other book freak in the family. She can't peek 'cause she's still not online. Can you believe it? People who actually exist without the Internet. It boggles the mind.
I'm also making another kitty square for the charity that provides lap quilts for nursing home residents. I'm on a kitty craze. A virtual friend from Canada sent me some charts she was done with and there were some remarkably cheery little felines in the batch, so I just had to do another one. If you find yourself with an extra couple of hours on your hands, Naomi at OECS could really use your help in keeping this very worthwhile charity going. The squares are teeny. Even a slowpoke like me can get them done quickly. Quilters are desperately needed. Even knitters can help out!
On the health front, our Nicky is recuperating remarkably well from his surgery, though he's having sleep troubles. Bad dreams. Not a surprise, but hard to deal with night after night (after night!). And my sinusitis is waging a losing battle at this point (knock wood). I missed the hour and a half yoga workout on Saturday, when I was more corpse than not, but did make my Pilates training last night. I'm not even too sore today. There may be hope. Max is still totally tuckered out from school and the change of the season. This year I am buying full-spectrum lights for our house and sparing Max & I another dreary winter of battling SAD.
Well, folks, I'm going to find out from Jane the Miracle Worker how I play with my side bar now. Please let me know what you think of my new digs. I'm really & truly at home now, and it feels great!
Love the new look :)