Why handmade?

Crankbunny explains best:

found via Goshdarnknit, via Wende, via Facebook...

Hazel Knits in the OC

If you're a knitter in the OC you might want to know about THIS. Would love to see you there!

Photo Meme

I love the idea of this gorgeous MEME!


(click to make bigger - opens in new window)

Here's how it rolls:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.

Consider yourself tagged! If you play along, let me know - I love looking at these mosaics!

This sweatshirt has been the object of my desire for some time now. Whenever I feel like I need some retail therapy I put it in my etsy cart, yet for some reason I just haven't sealed the deal. I'm not sure why (seriously, I've been coveting it for months), however looking at it again today, I'm thinking maybe it's because it looks like the scissors are about to lop off a boob. Is it just me? It's in my cart now - it could go either way...


Miraculously, I have a finished project. The color is terribly off- think magenta, brown, olives and reds.

Pattern: Railroad Rib socks by Evelyn Clark - distributed by Fibertrends
Yarn: Hazel Knits Cami Chic
Needles: US#1 (2.25mm) Crystal Palace Bamboo DPNs

I kind of feel like a slacker since all of my sock FO's of late are just one sock. But hey, they are for trunk shows - no need to knit two. This is one I wish I could keep for me - fits perfectly!

Next to go on the needles: Sam's Truffle Mitts... So cute!

There's no way I could easily get away with this behavior before I lived alone:

What's the point of dirtying plates when I know I'm going to eat the whole thing?

(not in just one sitting, of course :) Drinking straight from the milk carton may follow...

One Difficult Pattern

A couple of weeks ago I received this lovely print from the transcendent artist, Julia Freund, aka Lineanongrata.



I first became aware of Julia's work after she purchased some Hazel Knits yarn. I fell in love with her blog - the notion of living on a winery is so romantic to me. Her photography is amazing and I'm always excited to see what she will dream up next. I've been stalking her etsy site on a regular basis - just waiting for the right print to pop up. Found it!

The print comes on an artist's canvas type paper and is signed and dated by Julia. If you have a few minutes, I recommend browsing her fun work at etsy. Shipping is swift and reasonable and having a piece of art that makes you smile every time you see it is always a good thing!

I've been tagged by Sam and Nachelle for a MEME. What a great way to start the "new" blog...

The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.


1. What was I doing 10 years ago? I had just been hired at ENTROS, a job/community/culture that redirected my path in life. Oh how I miss that place!

2. What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order)?
a.Get the giant stack of carpet tiles out of the kitchen
b. Various Hazel Knits tasks
c. Buy milk
d. Book tickets for July SoCal trip
e. Put together donation basket for Macha Monkey Productions.

3. Snacks I enjoy: white corn chips with salsa and cottage cheese, pitas and baby carrots with hummus, pistachios, sliced Fuji apples with cheddar cheese. Guilty pleasure: Theo coconut-curry chocolate bar, Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches.


4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire: There are definite changes I'd make - however I'd probably live my life pretty much the same - just MORE. Give more time and money charitable causes, play more, travel more, rest more, etc... One major difference, though - I would NOT work more :).

5. Places I have lived. Jerome, Idaho; Twin Falls, Idaho; Idaho Falls, Idaho; Seattle, WA.


6. Jobs I've had: working on my parent's farm (rock picking, bean end-row hoeing, hay bale rolling, nightshade picking, etc.); bottle washer at a dairy; newspaper route; Dairy Queen (4 years!); Assistant Mgr. at men's clothing store; Store Manager at Storables; Guest Services Manager at ENTROS; Production Manager and Toy/Game Inventor, Forrest-Pruzan Creative; worker bee at Hilltop Yarn East; Owner, Hazel Knits.

7. Peeps I want to know more about: Hmmm - so many have already been tagged, but I haven't seen the answers here...


Wende - a sage blogger and friend who gently reminds me from time to time that I have a blog too :)

Maryanne - aka - knittymuggins - a kindred spirit that I will have some face time with SOMEDAY!

Rayleen - never fail to get a chuckle from her cleverness.

Heather - wished you lived closer!!

Megann - my soul sista that I can't wait to hang out with in 6 short weeks! Hooray!