Knitters Frolic

Today I attended the Knitters Frolic, presented by the Downtown Knit Collective of Toronto. It was a huge knitting marketplace held at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Center. There were also knitting workshops, raffles, and a small cafe. I decided to go at the last minute when my work shift got switched to a later shift, and wow- am I ever glad that I went as it was so much fun!

There were so many vendors and shops with unique hand-dyed yarns. I wish I knew how to spin as there was lots of roving and spinning supplies (better not start yet another craft just yet, though tempting!) So many knitters were there to check out all of the beautiful wool and some of the finished projects at the booths were gorgeous!

So here is what I bought! I am going to be busy!




I found this gorgeous wool by Viola - it is 80% superwash merino, 10% cashmere and 10% nylon in beautiful shades of green called "juniper". I hope to make a shawl out of it!







I bought two things from the Tanis Fiber Arts booth. I got 5 skeins of Green Label Aran Weight wool in "Atlantic" as well as the sweater pattern, "I Heart Aran". I can't wait to start this one!







I also got a kit to make the Four Seasons hat in purple. This is a complex looking pattern and something new for me to try a pattern in this style!







Last but certainly not least, I purchased the Ravinia sweater kit with Lorna's yarn from The Needle Emporium. I finally got the chance to briefly meet Julie, the owner, which was fantastic because I read her blog, A Really Good Yarn all the time!

I will be sure to post pics of all of my finished projects on my blog when I'm done! What a fun afternoon I had spent at Knitters Frolic!

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More Backyard Birds

It is a bit tricky to see, but I took this photo of a new bird feeder I bought - one that feeds gold finches. Within a few days of hanging it up, gold finches began eating from the feeder! They are so pretty, such a vibrant shade of yellow.

The really neat thing is that these are the only birds that feed upside-down! You fill the feeder with the small thistle seed (also known as nyjer seed) and the holes in the feeder are below the perches. It is amazing to watch these tiny birds flip upside-down for the seed! Here is a better image to show you:

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Surprise Mail from Overseas!

I received some wonderful surprise gifts in the mail this past week from some friends overseas! First, I received an amazing package of goodies from my longtime penfriend from Finland, Eeva-Liisa. She included some delicious chocolate bars and candy (I haven't tasted them yet as I wanted to post this blog first!),


A bag of coffee (she does know what I love....chocolate AND coffee!) and these cute strawberry shortcake stickers,


An amazing selection of paper and stationary! Love it and can't wait to use them!


And these super cute mini deco tapes and adorable sticky notes! I am so spoiled with these treats and paper goodies!

And I also received a package from my awesome penfriend from Japan, Emi! She is so sweet to write me and send me a gift after all that she has been through with the earthquake and tsunami. Emi knows exactly what I like, too, Rilakkuma and postcards! She mailed me a super cute Rilakkuma stationary set and some map postcards for my collection. The postcards show a map of Japan, a Hello Kitty map of Japan, and a map of Belgium.





I am so lucky to have such wonderful friends! It is just as fun also to choose items to mail in return to my friends, too!

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Exploring Streetsville, ON

Today, I decided to walk around historic Streetsville, which is a small area of Mississauga with many independently owned shops along Queen St. I recently moved to Mississauga and as I am new to the area, I am still learning about the region. I am sure there is much more to this section of town than the shops and wonderful older buildings, but for today I just walked along Queen St and enjoyed the shopping and the lovely Spring sunshine.







Spring has sprung in Streetsville as some flowers are in bloom and the buds are sprouting on the trees. There was a clear blue sky today, a mild breeze and the sun was shining - perfect for a walk!







I saw some historic buildings along Queen Street, including this interesting one with the words "Old Fellows Hall" written at the top. It appears to be a bit run-down and up for sale, so hopefully it will be restored fully. There was also this interesting archway that led down a small alley towards some shops.







I hope to visit this tea room sometime with Paul. Also, I couldn't resist taking a picture from the outside of this shop window - all sorts of vintage treasures inside!







I could not resist the opportunity to buy some freshly baked treats at Swirls Cupcakes! I picked up a variety of tantalizing flavours: red velvet, mangolicuous, strawberry fields, raspberry beret, and cookies & dream. Yum!




I also stumbled upon a discount wool shop called Knit 4 Less. A really nice man was working there while knitting some socks...oh, that would be my dream, to knit at work! They carry Red Heart, Bernat, Patons and more, and all at fantastic prices. Definitely check out this store if you get the chance, I know I will be back!

All in all, I had a really great day exploring a part of my town!

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Organization and Storage for Makeup/Accessories

I am a huge fan of storage and organization. Moving into a new house provides a whole new opportunity to arrange and organize! I wanted to get off to a good start and decided to organize my bathroom drawers. My makeup was stored in makeup bags and I couldn't even tell what I owned!

I purchased three clear acrylic drawer organizers at Bed Bath and Beyond - the two top drawers have a basic organizer with six divided spots and the bottom drawer has a larger cosmetics organizer with spots for lipstick and brushes.

I now have quick access to all of my accessories and makeup and I know exactly where everything is! Next challenge: displaying toiletries and items neatly on a larger white shelf in the same bathroom...I still have to figure that one out!

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A Happy Spring Day

Today, I went for a walk with friends around my hometown of Dundas. My friend is taking care of her boyfriend's family's dog, Maggie while they are on vacation. Maggie is a super sweet Golden Retriever who is friendly and loves going for walks. We took her on a walk to the leash-free dog park where she could run around outside on this beautiful Spring day. Maggie met a new doggy friend and they chased each other around and played. For me, it was so much fun to walk a dog as it has been years for me, back to when I walked my family's dogs back when I lived with my parents.

I also wanted to test out the camera of my new Motorola Atrix phone! The pictures look pretty good for being taken with a phone!

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Handmade Tea Bag Coasters from Africa

Recently, my father-in-law went on a vacation to South Africa (lucky!) and saw all sorts of amazing things on his travels, including some interactions with lions and lion cubs on a safari trip!  I could only dream of traveling there some day.  He brought back some gifts for Paul and I, including these amazing coasters that I couldn't resist posting about.

The company is called Original T Bag Designs based in Cape Town, South Africa.  The company's philosophy is wonderful:

It has been said that if you are cold tea will warm you, if you are heated it will cool you.  If you are depressed it will cheer you and if you are excited it will calm you.  For a group of perviously disadvantaged people in Cape Town, South Africa, one cup of tea has indeed provided community, love, excitement and peace.  

 After used tea bags have been collected, dried, emptied and ironed, they are ready to take on their new life as a canvas that will boast intricate designs inspired by local South African life.  And so it goes, that each humble tea bag is transformed into a unique piece of art.

 We received these amazing handmade coasters that are each made from repurposed emptied tea bags with hand-painted designs on them.  They are encased with a glass top and a cork bottom.  The company also sells greeting cards, notebooks, decoupaged boxes, tea-light holders, mirrors, placemats, wrapping paper and more.

Unfortunately, I don't think that you can order from them on-line (yet) but they do have a complete website with their products pictured.  Hopefully, you will be able to place orders from them online soon!  Unless you find yourself in South Africa...then please feel free to visit shops where their items are available:  V&A Waterfront Blue Shed and Mainstream Shopping Centre, Hout Bay.

It was lovely to receive such a thoughtful handmade gift with meaning behind it!

More Knitting and a New Phone

Some progress on the Parker Cardigan that has been on my knitting needles for a little while...I am completely finished the back of the sweater. It looks great so far, the instructions have been very clear and overall, it is an easy knitting project.

I just got a brand new cellphone, the Motorola Atrix. It is an android phone and I'm loving it so far! I am using a Blogger app to post this from my phone so hopefully it works! Do any of my readers have a droid phone? Any must-have apps for android?

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