Let There Be Light!

As you may know, I've been spending a lot of time exploring the great outdoors with my man. It has been so amazing to hike our state's myriad trails, sample some of our stunning national parks, cook on a toasty campfire and sleep under the twinkling stars. Being in nature is a real pleasure for me and experiencing it with someone I absolutely adore is definitely a bonus. That being said, our outdoor travels have lacked one very important feature: the ability to work on my crafty endeavors at night! Let's face it, trying to knit, crochet, weave or spin by a campfire is not exactly ideal. The light is beautiful, but it's not practical for working on any crafty to-go projects. Not to mention the fact that embers and yarn are not a really good combination. Not to worry though, I've come up with the perfect solution to my problem...

Meet my new trusty headlamp!



My handsome boyfriend, Steve, understands that a crafty girl has got to create, no matter the circumstances. So, he procured this headlamp for me. I road-tested it on our last camping trip. Works like a charm!

Gifties

A few packages have graced my doorstep as of late. The first little bundle of joy came to me all the way from France from fellow designer, Sylv!



Yes, those would be gorgeous buttons and a sweet little snack! The buttons were actually half of a prize for winning a contest on Sylv's blog. Wish I could say I did something special to win this awesome acquisition, but it just happened to be luck and luck alone. The other half of the prize is this pattern. Neener, neener, neeeeee-ner! I'm going to make a Plumetis Car-di!

Ahem...

Thank you Sylv!!!

Next up, it's a fabulous Art Esprit original!



Susan actually presented this wonderful painting to me while I was visiting her in NH this summer. Fortunately, she didn't mind mailing it to me as I was deathly afraid of squishing it into my suitcase. Needless to say I was so happy to pick this package up from my mailbox the other day that I literally did a happy dance inside the UPS Store. Not a pretty site, let me tell you.

At any rate, I love this piece! In fact, this morning I was padding around my home in the wee hours, coffee in one hand, hammer in the other, contemplating the perfect placement for this work.

Thank you Susan!

Now, for a little commissioned gifty action...

I asked my brilliant buddy Noreen to make me a couple of her excellent spool knitters...Here's what she's come up with. The best part? I didn't even ask her to do this! She just intuited the fact that I needed more skullies in my life!

Oh, and she made me a skull crochet hook too.

Neat-O!

Thanks so much Noreen!

Gifties rock!