Video

Here's the most adorable video of Tipper and Jake that Luke recently took.

Our boy Tipper

Last week was a hard one. We had to put Tipper to sleep last Thursday because an MRI showed an aggressive tumor on Tipper's upper spine, which caused paralysis of his hind legs and threatened to fracture his spine. This happened unbelievably fast and the only sign before last week was a sore front paw. We miss him so much, but we're trying to remember all of the good memories. This picture of him was taken by Sara last summer and is one of my favorites. He had been helping me in the garden and chasing his flying squirrel the day it was taken.

be mine

My simple letterpressed valentine's are still sitting on my kitchen table, so please enjoy this one!

We got 20.6" of snow here in Rochester. That's the third highest total for a 24-hour period. I spent half the day shovelling and even had to make a path through the back yard for Tipper. He looked like he was swimming...it was up to his chest!

Unfortunately, my boy hasn't been feeling well. We think he injured his neck jumping down from the bed, maybe a pinched nerve. I'm waiting for the vet to call me tomorrow. Until he starts feeling better, he's been a real mama's boy and climbed up into my lap the other day! Very sad and very sweet.

Getting back in the groove

After feeling completely stagnant for the last few months, I'm finally breaking the pattern. Here's the bag I just finished for Sara. She picked out the embroidered fabric and wanted to make sure it would fit a three-ring binder. The rest was up to me.

I wanted the bag to be a little sturdier, so I added interfacing to the lining. I haven't worked a lot with interfacing, but I have to say I'm beyond pleased with how it all turned out...I hope Sara is too! The bag measures 16" tall by 14" wide. The strap is 15".

I added an interior pocket that measures 4.5" tall by 7" wide.

Finally, I surprised her with a little zippered wallet that measures 3.5" by 5".

Book Party

Tonight I went to a semi-annual book party with some of Rochester's most wonderful book artists. The gathering was hosted by Colleen Buzzard. Here are a few of Colleen's pieces, they're even more beautiful in person.


Another book artist and former host of the book party, Sue Huggins Leopard.

Here is an image from Kelly Jacobson. Kelly has a studio/gallery space in Rochester and makes beautiful installations. I just love her use of text in these sculptural pieces.

Winter makes us tired.

Here's my very sleepy Tipper waiting for us to come to bed. Note his matching collar (from Abbey) and space-age vest, both from Old Navy. Oddly enough, he thinks he's people and loves to wear clothes!

I got this awesome bag and needle case from my mom for my birthday. They're made entirely from silk by della Q and fit everything perfectly! I was lucky enough to snag most of these needles and hooks at an estate sale for $1 a few years ago. I didn't know how to knit or crochet at the time, but boy am I glad I kept them around! There was even a half-finished blanket that I'm hoping to be able to finish by myself some day soon.

Super Bowl

Happy Super Bowl Sunday. In honor of this great day of sports I started knitting my first basket weave scarf. I'm making this as a belated Christmas present for my mom. I made six scarves for Christmas before running out of time to finish this one. I'm feeling obsessive today and got this far in the span of a single Super Bowl party. I'm totally wild!

I've decided that these needles are pretty blah. They were the only size nine's in the whole store and I really needed to have that size right then! Next time I'll have to make myself wait it out.

*FYI: I got this shirt from the thrift store as an undergrad and get to wear it with pride once a year. Actually, all five of my roommates have one, too! I wonder if any of them wore theirs today???

Wasting Time?

I can't tell if I'm being productive or wasting time. I've been slightly obsessed with looking up other blogs to add to the site and have lost track of everything else! I even forget to share them with you because each one leads me to ANOTHER super-exciting site.

I just spent too much money with Amber on craft stuff. We got flocked fabric to make pillows and I'm now trying to figure out what to do with the other yard I got...should it become placemats or a clutch? Maybe both! More to follow.