Mushroom Clock

Hello there!

I have another finished project to share. A little wall clock that I painted with a happy mushroom. I got the wooden form on sale last year at Hobby Lobby, and just now got around to painting it.
All in all I am happy with how it turned up.

And now here it is on the wall in my room, right next to Sam the Mushroom man.

Here's a little close-up of his face.

He's happy to see you!

Can you tell?

I thought I might leave you with a photo of my sweet Sheila, snoozing on my yarn.

What a cutie she is.

:)

Happy Thursday!!

xoxo, Callie

the magical bean

Lace Basket

Crocheting a little basket is quite fun.

Especially when you are supposed to be doing something else :)

Still the orangy orangness of it makes me quite pleased, not to mention the little vintage yellow buttons.


It was quick and simple.

It is from my ever favorite book, Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts Lacy Crochet from Chronicle Books.

The only thing different I had to do was slightly starch it because it was all loose and somewhat pitifully floppy before.
Not any longer though :)

Hope your Monday was fantastic!
XOXO, Callie
the magical bean

Tinsmith's Wife Anniversary

Last Friday was the second anniversary of my favorite yarn shop The Tinsmith's Wife out in Comfort. If you have been following my blog for a while you know how much I love going there. The owner Wendy is the best as far as I am concerned, not to mention her amazing parents Susan and Bill. They are kind, sweet, and all around good hearted. They are just wonderful and I really wanted to find some way to let them know it.

So I decided to give them a little gift in honor of their celebration. I had drawn this little sheep knitting (shown above) a bit ago and it just seemed perfect, so after framing it, my lovely mom and I set off on Friday to give it to them in person. Along the way there we got a flat tire, and a very nice old cowboy stopped to help us put on the spare (many thanks Brad!).
Once arriving I gave them my gift and I was so excited to see that they liked it!
Many hugs were shared and happy tears. It was a very happy moment. They then hung up the picture on the wall, right away! It was so touching.

( This picture is of Wendy and I laughing; and you can even see my picture hanging in the background, photographed by Susan)

Then after all that, Wendy did something extraordinary for me that really touched me even more. She gave me a gift in return. Can you believe I teared up again? It was their special anniversary pattern and hand dyed yarn, that even came with the beads!

The pattern is for a shawl called Eurybia by Melissa Goodale from Stick Chick Knits. The yarn that accompanies it is this deep shade of beautiful green that I really can't wait to work on! It was hand dyed by Hazel Knits in the Emerald City colorway.
.

The cup is the perfect size too, and a lovely shade of blue, just the right size for my cups of tea.

Then after all that Wendy did a post on her blog about it which really made my day, be sure to visit her blog and website for her shop.

Thank you Tinsmith's Wife!

This is a moment in my life that I will always cherish. Your generosity is outstanding. I'm so glad I got to be apart of your special and momentous celebration.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

You mean a great deal to me too :)

XOXO, Callie

the magical bean

Yarn Crawl 2010

So one word to describe the Yarn Crawl this year is--fun! It was a blast, really. My mom, Kaitlyn, Jessica and I planned it a little bit differently this year, separating up the shops into different days. Last year we did everything on one day... a little too much looking back. The first shop we went to was Nan's Needle works in Horseshoe Bay. We hadn't been to it before and I was really surprised how nice it was. The shop was located in a business center on the second floor but was worth the search. I found the most beautiful yarn that the owner, Cari Kojak, dyes herself. It is 100% silk and I don't know if I've ever been so smitten with a yarn right from the get go before. It's soft, oh so soft, and I just love the colors.

All in all I went to nine shops!

This years passport and bag were bright orange! Of course that made me very happy.

I really think this years free yarn was so great. I seemed to be drawn to the same colors though, as you can tell, greens, blues, and purples.

I got several great free patterns to accompany the yarn but somehow forgot to photograph them. Drat!

I visited Hill Country Weavers, Gauge, Nan's Needle Works, The Tinsmith's Wife, Rosewood Yarns, Yarnivore, Yarn Barn, Stonehill Spinning, and the Knitting Nest. I really treasured going by my favorite store in Comfort, The Tinsmith's Wife.

This is the second thing I bought this year: orange Silky Alpaca lace yarn from Classic Elite. I got it at Rosewood Yarns in Boerne.

I only bought four skeins this year! How's that for self-restraint?!? :)

Honestly, I almost didn't do the crawl this year, since I am making a huge effort to save more and more. So far it has been good, and I have been avoiding going to places I know will tempt me to spend, but this was the first time in a long time I have splurged a little.

I know I said this would be posted last Monday, but I spent the last week looking all over the house for a mysteriously misplaced camera cord that ended up being hidden under one of my quilts. No idea how it got there...

I just now found it last night.

So it is albeit late :)

Forgive me?

XOXO, Callie

the magical bean

Yarn Crawl 2010+ Lake House Adventure

Last weekend two very joyous occasions happened. The first was a little family vacation, and the second was the Best Little Yarn Crawl in Texas. It was my second year in a row, if you recall, doing the crawl and boy this year was a blast as well!
The trip began on Friday when my mom, dad, Michael and I went on our merry way up to our families lake house.
We did some fishing, and overall just spent time together. In the cabin, I did some reading and worked on various drawings. We separated out time for the yarn crawl, all in all I went to nine shops all over the hill country.

I will tell you some more about what exactly happened on the crawl tomorrow.
Can't wait!
This lake was just so pretty.

I might have taken a 'few' photos of it. :)

We sat on the benches together and my mom scrap booked, my sister's read magazines and I knitted for a bit.

It was very pleasant.

I found several good free books at the local V.A. thrift store that I read a bit.

Here's my brother in the early morning light getting ready for the day!
Sipping some hot cocoa, of course.These are some views from the road, there are still so many wildflowers out and about. It really brightens up the roads.

All in all a splendid trip, one worth remembering.

Did you do anything fun on Columbus day Weekend?

XOXO, Callie

the magical bean

works in progress

This is a little sampling of my projects in progress. There are many more, although I don't care to admit it, but I am finishing up more and more, so there is hope! :)

This doll was started a long time ago and finished but she never felt 'right' to me. I decided to go back and change her up a bit. I repainted her face, crocheted her a hat, and am finishing up hand sewing her dress. I also have to make her some shoes, but for the most part she is almost done.

I really like how happy she looks now :)
The next project are socks!!!

This is the shawl I am making for my mom.

I actually have more done now but you get the idea.

I really love this yarn from Sweet Georgia, so soft and the colors are so vibrant!

I bought the yarn below while living in Germany after first learning to knit and loved it.

I haven't ever used it because partly of its sentimental value. Recently however I was missing living there and decided to give it a go.

I am just making a really easy cowl....

It is so fuzzy.
Really. You have no idea how soft and fuzzy it is.

I am making some bright yellow coasters. They make me happy!
I have one side done and the second started.

And finally a crocheted butterfly!

Might make this one into a pin.

Just winged making it.

Get it?

Winged!

Heee heee :)

So many projects, but almost done with many.

Here's to a great Wednesday!

XOXO, Callie

the magical bean