Baaaaabs!

Today, I took the most awesome class and learned how to needle-felt a sheep! It was a lot of fun.   The class was offered through one of the Spinning and Weaving Guilds I belong to – Blue Ridge Spinners and Weavers.

 

 

 

The class was  taught by Dina, one of our members.  She has created some of the cutest sheep – and they sell like hot cakes at the fiber festivals.  I’ve been wanting to learn how to make one of these forever!

 

 

 

 

I was just amazed at how I could go from the raw wool and dyed locks….

 

 

 

 

 

To creating the various felted parts of my sheep…

 

 

 

 

To a “naked sheep”…

 

 

 

 

 

To the slightly fuzzed sheep…

 

 

 

And finally, to my finished ewe…..”Baaaaabs” (we had to name our sheep, and “Baaaaabs” immediately leapt into my brain!)  I LOVE how she turned out!!!

Valentine’s Day

Wow…what a day!   I didn’t get home from work until 11:20 pm!   I almost totally missed Valentine’s Day!    Poor DH spent the evening at dinner with friends…while I worked.   It’s the first Valentine’s Day that we’ve ever been apart!  

Thankfully, I made DH his heart-shaped double chocolate brownies last night!!   Else, he wouldn’t have had anything to signify Valentine’s Day!   My flowers arrived yesterday as well…so that was perfect!   I got to enjoy them a day early!  The ladybug makes me think of Spring.  I truly hope it’s just around the corner!

I’m hoping for a much more traditional Valentine’s Day next year!!!!

Projects – Sharing for Valentine’s Day

One of our swaps this month was to “share” something with our swap partner for Valentine’s Day and ensure that it arrives on or before.  The idea was to “share” something.

I decided to try my hand once again at crochet….this time, to crochet a heart shaped candy bowl – Lily’s “Heart Valentine Candy Bowl”.   It came out much deeper than what’s shown on the pattern, but I actually like it better – it holds more “candy kisses”.   (I shared a bag of Hershey’s Kisses with my swap partner….that’s the “share” part of the package.) 

Of course, I couldn’t resist making another little gift to include – this adorable little heart dish cloth. It’s the “Heart Washcloth” pattern by Eileen Casey.  It’s so cute!   I love how it turned out!  At the very least, it’s a happy bright cloth that will hopefully add a bit of whimsy to the boring chore of washing dishes….plus, you have to love the cheery bright red – a nice contrast to  the dull and dreary winter!

Ground Hog Day

What a fabulous “Ground Hog Day”!   DH and I took a trek to Amissville, VA to meet a couple of doggies from RAWL – Rappahannock Animal Welfare League.  It’s the same rescue group where we got our beloved Sandy nearly 12 years ago.  We’d been cruising the website over the past week and found a couple of cute fellows that had caught our eye, so we wanted to meet them.  (A house just isn’t a home without a loving dog!!!)

When we met Bandit in person, he immediately stole our hearts.   He was the sweetest, most loving, “lap-dog-wanna-be” I’ve ever met!   When he came out of the kennel, he immediately snuggled up with DH.  He was adorable!   He seemed to cuddle and love you by “melting into you” and laying his head on you as if to hint that he’d love to snuggle up on your lap. 

Within 10 minutes, I was down on the floor being snuggled.  This guy is a total cuddle bug!  My heart melted on the spot.   This guy is the best!   He LOVES everybody and every dog….he just oozes with all the traits one could possibly want in a furry member of the family.

Needless to say, DH and I were in total agreement – we both immediately adored him.   There was NO doubt….we absolutely wanted to adopt this lovable guy.   He rode home with us this afternoon…snuggled up close to me in the back seat…..with his very weighty paws “pinning me down” nearly the entire ride home…after all, he weighs 80+ lbs!!!!

A very loving welcome to the newest member of our family….Bandit!

And check out Bandit’s face in this photo…I swear he’s smiling!   I’ve never met a dog that can smile like he can!   He’s absolutely incredible!  You can’t help but look at him and immediately be in a good mood!