Special Gift from a Special Friend

I've been friends with Tammi for over 30 years. Wow! That's a long time! We met in high school, have been friends ever since and I think we will always be friends. Some friends are just like that. They're kind of like family. That's what Tammi and her family are to me. I can't imagine ever not having them in my life.

About 20'ish years ago, Tammi found out about a fiber event happening locally and we went to check it out. There were people doing things I'd never seen or even heard about...they were spinning and weaving! It was fascinating and exciting! I remember one woman in particular who had a small loom with her and she was weaving fabric on it to sew a jacket. Wow! That was so cool!

After browsing around the fiber event, we went to a little yarn/weaving/knitting store that Tammi had heard about. It was in Grand Terrace, California and the owner, Matti (Martha Middleton) had just opened her shop. It was in an old, small, shack like building with one window in the front. She was warm and welcoming and so eager to share her love of weaving and other fiber arts. We quickly signed up to learn how to weave. She asked us to pick out four colors of Lamb's Pride yarn to purchase and she taught us to weave on LeClerc, Dorothy, four harness table looms. She not only taught us for free, she was so generous to let me take the loom home to work on my newly learned skills. And, my love of fiber arts...beyond crochet...grew to weaving, eventually spinning, and, years later, knitting. I will never forget Matti and wish I knew where she was today to thank her, again, for sharing her passion with me. Unfortunately, Tammi became ill and wasn't able to do much more than warp her loom.

Fast forward those 20'ish years and Tammi is doing much better and has been able to pursue her interest in weaving and knitting. She found a local yarn shop a couple of years ago in Colorado, purchased a rigid heddle loom and started taking some classes. She's doing amazing! And, she's knitting! I'm so excited that she has finally been able to learn these things and enjoy them. And, it's so great to share the love of fiber arts with her. How great that she was able to introduce both of us to this wonderful world of fiber! Thank you, Tammi!

This Christmas, she surprised me with a very special gift...a scarf made by her, for me. Wow! How cool is that! I'm not even sure how to express in words how special this gift is to me. But, I can show it to the world! Here it is...my gift from Tammi...being modeled by my daughter...


I'm not sure what pattern she used but it's a little bit open and lacey but also very warm.


It's kind of stripey...but subtle.


The colors are pretty and it's soft. It's a perfect length to be able to wear it in various ways. Yeah...this is me...I'm not crazy about being in pictures or sharing them but I thought I'd be brave and go for it...at least one. :-/


Thank you, Tammi! I love it! Hugs!

Yippee for Yarn Bowls

I received some great gifts for Christmas. One of my favorites is from my daughter. She made a ceramic bowl for my yarn...


I love the blue color, the hand written "yarn" on the side, the notch for the yarn to come through, and, most of all, I love that she made it for me.


I couldn't wait to start using it and fell in love with it even more when I did. It works so great! My yarn ball stays in the bowl and spins gently as the yarn feeds out through the slot. No more chasing the ball across the sofa, the floor or the room! I love it! :-D

Signs of Christmas

We really enjoy making gifts. And, lucky for us, our family seems to like receiving them. We've even been told that when we don't make them, they miss it. How cool is that?!

We've made lots of different things over the years...baked goods, flavored olive oil and vinegar, gift baskets, quilts, crochet and knit items, wooden toys, etc, etc.

Three of the gifts we gave this year were signs made of wood. My husband and I come up with the ideas and designed them, he cut out and sanded the wood, did a lot of the painting, and I painted the letters.

We made this sign for his aunt and uncle. They love spending about half the year in Idaho and when they're home they can't wait to go back. So, we thought they'd enjoy this. Hubby even made a metal arrow for them to move as the time gets closer to leaving for their summer destination...


This one was made for my husband's grandma. She's almost 90 and still plays bunco regularly. I think she's been playing with the same group of ladies for over 20 years! She loves her sign and can't wait to show the ladies when they meet for bunco at her house in a couple of weeks...


This one was for hubby's grandpa. He's 90 and loves his beer! We saw a sign with this saying on it and thought it was funny. He doesn't drink this much but we thought he'd enjoy it...