Mania, Maiming, and Mamas

Question. If something you see advertised as "Fiber Mania," you would assume that there would be lots of wooly goodness for you to play with, right?

Well, you'd be wrong. Fiber Mania in Alliance was a huge disappoint on the yarn front. There were more antique shops than anything else.

I did find a tabletop loom at a ridiculously good price. And I did get to spend the day with some of my favorite people, so I'll chalk it up to a win.

It also helps that my new leggings were waiting for me in the mail when we got back. And holy hello, they are the most comfortable things on the planet! Why didn't I start wearing these things sooner?!

No pictures of the whole outfit, though. Haven't had a chance to take any decent pictures.

Oh, I suppose that I should also mention that I bought a giant dragon statue for the mantle...

Yeah.

I also took a day with my grandma to Hollo's Papercraft. I was looking for some handmade paper for John's present (he knows about it now). I ended up finding these two.

I also bought a bunch more supplies for more journal making, including a ream of parchment. It's been lovely to work with.

On the yarn front, I received the last of my Madeline Tosh club colors. 

The color is called Sandstone and it's even more gorgeous in person. This one is fingering weight and included two skeins. Which means there's more than enough for a shawl.

I also fell in love with the fire color from the last round and ended up purchasing some from someone who didn't like it.

I can't wait to play with this one.

On my needles, I have Maori for myself. I'm using Malabrigo Lace in Water Green. I just purchased a dress to match it (and holy hell, it's the most comfortable dress EVER!) and am hoping to have the shawl done in time to wear to the Great Lakes Fiber Festival in a couple of weeks.

This one might be on par with Funkia for absolute favorite.

Mother's Day was this past Sunday. As you could guess, I haven't finished everyone's presents. I may be a terrible person.

Anyway, I did finally finish the shawl that I started for Grandma Pat for her birthday last year.

This is Passe-Partout in Three Irish Girls Springvale DK. 

And yes, before you ask, it came out huge. There were another 21 rows of garter stitch at the edge that I left off. And this still came out to 70 some inches. 

I also made her a note pad with a replaceable paper pad.

For my mother-in-law, I made a journal with some of the parchment that I bought.

We didn't actually go out and visit anyone that day. We decided to work on the yard since it was high enough that we were in danger of losing Chloe in it.

I planted flowers in the porch planters. We put some lovely smelling lavender in our large pots. When the wind blows it smells amazing. 

John took a little break from mowing and I decided he needed some proper decorations.

I also made my first ever fairy garden.

I even hid some little mice in there.

The house looks pretty damn good, if I do say so myself.

My raging case of sunburn, however, does not.

Sunscreen, kids. Remember it.