Tiny Owl Knits Swap

I belong to the Tiny Owl Knits group on Ravelry(if you're not a Raveler, you can find her etsy shop here, and you should totally check it out because it's amazing!), and we had a Spring swap, which was super fun. I just received my swap package in the mail, and oh-em-gee it is gorgeous!

Spectacular charm bracelet!

Necklace in my favorite colors.

Extra yarn for coordinating accessories(methinks some gloves?)

Beautiful sock yarn.

Parseltongue hat! I can now hang with the cool kids in the Slytherin common room.

Ponyo was very interested in the parcel.

...aaaand thought the sock yarn was a perfect corgi toy.

I love my swap package. This was my first swap, I hope to do a better job on my next swap package. The one I sent out this time 'round was made on a budget and with a shortage of time and not nearly what my swap partner deserved.

It's finally officially Spring!

I finally finished embroidering(poorly) Desiree's birthday slippers. They turned out fairly pretty, I'm pleased. :) This project page can be found here, and the original pattern here, for you Ravelers out there.

We were also graced with some blooming snowdrops, which I fully intend on digging up and taking with us to the new house. I'm so excited about that house, you guys. So excited! Huge front deck, bigger back deck, tons of room(seriously, tons), big back yard. We're having so many parties. So many. Big pagan summer party with animal masks and a fire pit. So look forward to that.

I've been cooking my way through Appetite for Reduction and so far have made the Mango BBQ Beans with Fresh Corn and Scallion Cornbread(spicy and delicious, next time I will use less cayenne and just spice up Mr. Bear's helpings), Creamy Mushroom Fettucine(um, YUM! Mr. Bear didn't so much care for it but I freaking loved it! Wine and Balsamic Vinegar? Delish.), and Blackened Broiled Tofu with Jerk Asparagus(also too spicy for me, but Mr. Bear was in heaven, and I thought the asparagus was amazing). I'm really enjoying getting back into the habit of hardcore cooking.
Oh yeah, and my birthday is in three days.

Coraline, or How I learned to Spin

We had some time to kill before the movie, and while we were browsing in Nordstrom's, I saw this dress, which reminded me of the Atlas fabric I became so fond of in Urumqi:

It's not exactly Atlas, but it's so close!

I really enjoyed Coraline, even with the addition of new characters and a slightly altered ending. Visually, it was absolutely stunning, and now I'm even more interested in making one of those Coraline Boxes I've been seeing everywhere. I love buttons.

Before the movie Desi and I had lunch where we exchanged birthday gifts. She seemed to like the Guan Yin figure(it's much heavier than it looks), but she totally wins the gift-giving round this time. She got me two drop spindles(one large, one small), a niddy noddy, a nostepinne, and some gorgeous red wool roving. After the movie we went to the Chocolate Apothecary, ordered some drinking chocolate(I had the Chocolate Mocha, and I highly recommend it) and settled into the overstuffed chairs in front of the fireplace so she could teach me to spin.

Her yarn is so even and thin. I must practice until I get that good.

And my sorry excuse for yarn. Super-lumpy.

I'm still proud of it, though. It didn't end up a giant tangled ball.

We got free biscotti. People love spinners.

The hardest part for me so far is drafting(where you pull the fibers apart so they're thin enough to spin, but not so thin that you split the roving). This roving had a fairly long staple length, which helped.

That's a niddy noddy she's winding her yarn around. The yarn looks red in the photo, but it's actually orange and purple.

You know, the Chocolate Apothecary should really consider paying me for my endorsement.