Sunday Scripture

Psalm 86 verse 15

But Thou, O Lord, art a God merciful and gracious,

slow to anger
and abundant in lovingkindness and truth.

OR

But You, O Lord, are a God of compassion and mercy,

slow to get angry
and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.

OR

But You, O God, are both tender and kind,
not easily angered,
immense in love, and You never, never quit.

What's on the Needles

I am currently knitting another scarf for my nephew. Last year I knitted him a scarf in his his two favorite colors: hot pink and turquoise.

This year he decided that he liked the turquoise yarn so much, that he requested a scarf done entirely out of that yarn. It’s a fuzzy yarn from Hobby-Lobby, and it actually knits up to be a very soft scarf done in just the knit stitch. Easy, mindless knitting. Yay!

And I’m using a circular needle made from components of my Denise Interchangeable Needle System, instead of two regular knitting needles. I love the Denise needles because they’re plastic. Soft plastic. I like how that makes them quiet to knit with. And I also like how they’re not cold like metal needles and that they are somehow softer (more resilient?) than wooden ones. And I like how there isn’t a straight needle, poking at my ribs.

Apparently, it's yet another one of those Goldilocks things:
this one is just right. J

And circular, just cuz that way I don’t have to keep up with a second needle. It stays all together this way. I also like how the scarf just hangs off the cable onto my lap. I do want to try Addi Turbos sometime soon, but for now I just grabbed these outa the closet. And that’s the beauty of the Denise Needle System -- you always have the right size needle on hand.

So now that I’m almost through, I can’t wait to finish it and work on something of my own. Like a Vintage Bubble Bag. (Oops--I bought the yarn for it already!)

Besides, I don’t generally enjoy working on “assignments”, knitting or otherwise. I guess that’s why I never enjoyed doing calligraphy as a business. As soon as I got a commission, I couldn’t wait to get it done and off my table, so I could go back to my own stuff. Plus the pay was never worth the grief and hassle, but that’s a whole ‘nother chapter. Sheesh, maybe a whole ‘nother book! J

Anyway, I am such a process-knitter (I enjoy the Process more than the end Product) that I will putter away at it until it’s finished, happily ignoring how slow a knitter I am. I tell you, glaciers move faster! Oh well, it’s a good thing my nephew doesn’t need it for this winter, because at this rate, he’ll get it for the 4^th of July! haha

So, what are you working on??

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥

Roly-Poly

We’ve had a little raccoon come up during the day lately, which is neat, but it also concerns us a little.

You see, normally the only time we see raccoons during the middle of the day is in May and June when the mommas are either pregnant or nursing, and they’re so hungry that they come for food day and night, anytime, any place.

But this little guy not only started coming during the day, he’d stay. And he’d stay and stay. Hours at a time.

Now all the other raccoons eat and then leave. But not this one. He would come and eat, and then (since it was bitterly cold) he would tuck under and curl up and sleep. For hours.

It’s like he would be sitting up and then tuck his head straight down to his tail and curl up into a tight round ball. Nothing was exposed to the elements this way. No paws, no face, just a round mass of fur. So it really was brilliant on his part, and he kind of looked like a giant, furry pillbug, all rolled up into a ball.

So naturally we named him Roly-Poly.  :)

Now, we’ve been feeding the wildlife enough years to know that when you put out free food you get the cute animals, but you also get the sick and the lame. That’s just the way it is. Frankly, they need the easy food the most, right?

So, we’re hoping that Roly-Poly is just being smart, hanging around taking naps and eating snacks, and not something worse. Cuz it’s just not normal.

In fact, we’re always kind of glad to look out and see that he’s gone, if you know what I mean.

Kinda like that goldfinch the other day that crashed into our window and knocked itself completely unconscious for hours. We were thrilled to look out and discover that it had finally woken up and flown away. Oy.

It’s fun to feed the critters, but it’s hard when they literally die on your doorstep.

We’re hoping for the best for little Roly-Poly.
And so far, so good.  :)

To all of us makin’ it through this hard winter…

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥

Quote o' the Day

"You will express yourself in your house
whether you want to or not."

-- Elsie de Wolfe

The Power of Music

It is rare that I find a new piece of music that really and truly feeds my soul. I don’t mean to be picky, I guess I’m just not that easily moved or something. When I do stumble across such a song, it’s practically a life-changing event for me.  :)

So when I found a new piece by Chloe on iTunes last night, I was in love. Mr. Man did all the techno stuff to get it onto my iPod for me, so now I am set to OD on it today in the studio. (!)

Music is such a personal thing. What one person dances to, is nails on a chalkboard to someone else. But if you’re curious, you can check out one of Chloe’s songs here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddL4s1D2XXw

Now, you may prefer classical or country & western, or blues or jazz, but the point is, I hope you listen to some wonderful music and nourish your soul today.

There’s hardly anything as powerful as music to soothe the savage beast within, and heaven knows, we’re all stressed-out enough to need some serious TLC.

So I hope you play your favorite song for yourself today.
I’m going to.

May composers everywhere be inspired and flourish…

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥

Sunday Scripture

Psalm 19 verse 1

The heavens declare the glory of God;
and the firmament shows His handiwork.

[This is for my astronomy-loving husband.
Me, I had to look up what firmament was.]

Postcard Fun

Here’s a little postcard-sized bit of fun that I made this afternoon after doing my usual practice session of pointed pen and broad-edged calligraphy. (Gotta get and keep that hand in shape!)

As much as I love calligraphy, and as long as I have studied it, I still have a thing for hand-printing. A major thing. I don’t know why. It is just as “me” as it gets, or something.  :)

And I have been playing with regular pastels for some time by “wiping” them onto paper with a tissue. It’s so easy and fun, and such a great way to add color! I used removable painter’s tape to mask off the stripe before I applied the pastels.

The quote reads: “The secret of patience is doing something else in the meantime.” (Spoken like a true knitter, ha-ha!)

To more patience and good distractions…

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥