Wee tiny sock swap, Jan 2010

Got my swap box from the January 2010 Wee Tiny Sock swap. ::squeees::

My Hedwig is just too cute for words! And the tiny Slytherin sock? It's one of the tiniest socks I've seen yet! And my very first Slytherin sock, too! Plenty of other goodies, too .... some hand spun yarn that she spun *just* for me!! (she called it Starrkatt's Dragon's Blood yarn & is it ever pretty & sparkly!), a Harry Potter wizard's wand (it's in the pic, but since it's behind Hedwig, it's hard to see), a 'Twilight Scentsy', a knitted sock bookmark (with tiny beads added all over so it sparkles!), 3 mini balls of yarn so I can make more mini socks (like I need to be enabled there! LOL), a really cool little sachet of lavender buds wrapped up in some striped material with Gryffindor colors showing (go Gryffindor!), a little plastic pill bottle that looks like one of those shaker containers that you mix flour & water in, 3 really pretty 'Hand Knit' tags that I can use on my own projects (gonna have to figure out how to make some myself, now!), a string of beads in a beautiful orange-red and another another set in a sparkly matrix set in a clear flattened sphere shape, some lizard toes in a teeny tiny bottle (with the warning that they aren't edible .... darn, and here I was gonna sprinkle 'em on my morning cereal, too ::snickers::) and a pretty set of stitch markers ::giggles:: that I made! That was so funny .... she thought they were 'wizardy' so she sent 'em forgetting that I'd made them for the December Wee Tiny Sock Club (we both belong to it) ....... and to top it all off, an ENTIRE BAG of Hershey's Kisses, a big Marshmallow 'lollipop' and a pretty note card ... all packed in the prettiest little silver metallic basket!

And if she did all this for the $10 we agreed on (PLUS postage!) ......... well, she's the canniest shopper ever & must have gotten some killer deals, is all i can say!

Mini quilts

A discussion came up on one of my Ravelry groups about mini quilts, and in particular whole cloth mini quilts, so I said I'd post pictures of some of ones I've done. Here they are.

The rainbow colored one, while it looks pieced, is not. The center is a single block of fabric printed with the rainbow chevrons. The black border is pieced on, the the rainbow border, while it is pieced on, is not itself pieced (trying to piece all those tiny curves is a bit over-the-top, even for me!).

The fish are the goldfish from the original Fantasia. I had come across some line drawings of them in an old artbook at my then-local library & photocopied them. When I found the quilting pattern that reminded me of an aquarium, I remembered the tiny fish & decided to use them on my quilt. They are quilted with a variegated, multi-hued embroidery floss.

The roses are the same quilting pattern overall but, obviously, with a different focal pattern in the center.

The other quilts were just patterns that I wanted to try in the color combinations that happened to 'feel right' at the time.

Potions, HLBOE, Term 3

As extra credit for Potions, Term 3, HLBOE, we were to post a picture of our completed 'warming potion', along with the recipe.

Chocolate Cinnamon Chai Tea
One Muggle teabag of chai tea
1/2 - 1 tsp hot cocoa mix
1/4 - 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
sweetener to taste
milk to taste

Place teabag, hot cocoa mix, cinnamon & sweetener in an 8 oz mug. Fill mug with boiling water, leaving room for desired amount of milk. Steep 4 minutes. Remove teabag. Add milk. Taste for sweetener. Enjoy

Note: not all the cinnamon will dissolve. You may wish to dispose of the last bit in the bottom without drinking it, as it will be slightly gritty.

January doings at HLBOE

Well, the 3rd Term at HLBOE has started .... and this week's class is Transfiguration. After a discussion of




Wasn't expecting anything in the mail today ....... but I got something!

Queen Frysia the Fierce sent me the neatest little RAOK .... a bookmark with Dumbledore's remark about loving knitting patterns (chap. 4 of the Half-Blood Prince) as well as a set of stitch markers with HP symbols on them. Just love it!!

Too much to handle?

This came off the Net years ago ........ I've no clue who originally wrote it, but I came across it in my files the other day & thought .. ya know, this makes sense ..... so here it is once again:

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle
When 24 hours in a day are not enough
Remember the mayonnaise jar ..... and the coffee ....

A professor stood before his philosophy class & had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he pick up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes".

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now,", said the professor, as the laughter subsided. "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions - things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter, like your job, your house, and your car. The sand is everything else - the small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical check ups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18 holes. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the drains. Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled and said, "I'm glad you asked. It goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there is always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

Clever sod.