Another Surprise Package!

I can't say it enough...I love getting mail, especially packages! Anyone else with me??

They just always have such a nice, personal touch & it makes a person feel good to know that someone out there is thinking about them and wanting to brighten their day, just a little bit.

I met Jenn when I was living in Monterey, CA. I was having a hard time meeting people (as is sometimes the case when you move somewhere not knowing anyone) and decided to join this knitting group on Meetup. The group contained about 5-10 ladies (all different ages) who got together every week to eat, knit & chat...it was a blast! Anyway, Jenn was one of the leaders of the group and we very quickly became good friends...going to get coffee or dinner, taking short road trips, attending the midnight release of Twilight's New Moon at the local Borders, and even taking a sewing class together. Our love for knitting, DIY, Twilight books/movies, etc. bonded us for life, I'm pretty sure! :)

Have I mentioned that she is one of the craftiest people I know?! She knits, crochets, paints, cooks, makes handmade cards, sews...you name it, she does it...or she'll figure out how to do it! She has such great ideas - I just love them all. She has a blog too - Piles of Patterns, and she's promised me that she'll be updating soon!!

So I received this uber-thoughtful package from her and had to share it:

It was partly a belated birthday gift - even the gift bag was personalized!

Cutest handmade card AND envelope - it says "Sparkle & Shine"

Some AMAZING sea salt caramels from Lula's Chocolates in Monterey (I also featured them here on Friday - so you can see what the caramels actually looked like). Needless to say, they're gone by now, not a trace of them left! :)

A darling bookmark that displays the quote: "Where there is love there is life" ~Mahatma Gandhi. I am currently putting it to good use, as I'm starting the 3rd book in the Fifty Shades of Grey series!

Some fun 'create-your-own' magnets...you just stick a picture or piece of scrapbook paper or whatever you want behind the glass, stick the magnet on and you have personalized magnets for your fridge! Very cool idea - will have to share my finished product when I'm done.

And finally, a beautiful, handmade cowl - made from jersey knit material. It is soft, light-weight AND reversible (you can see both sides in the pic)!! I love it and have a feeling that I'm going to get A LOT of use out of it.

So as if I hadn't listed out a lot of ideas & suggestions for care packages here, there are many more options above, if you enjoy DIY/crafts/sewing/etc. Jenn knows me SO well, and this package screams it - I love her thoughtfulness and can't wait to send her one right back!! Thanks Jenn :)

Do you all have any other items you enjoy receiving in the mail or in packages? Please share!!

Day 1: A Tale of Two Yarns

Topic: Part of any fibre enthusiast’s hobby is an appreciation of yarn. Choose two yarns that you have either used, are in your stash or which you yearn after and capture what it is you love or loathe about them.

Well, the first yarn that I am going to talk about has been mentioned MANY times before on this blog. Anyone that has read my knitting/yarn-themed posts, has read about my obsession with Sunshine Yarns!! This yarn is hand-dyed by the super talented Dani and she sure knows how to dye yarn! She uses luscious base yarn (not sure what kind it is) and combines colors that just scream amazing. She also creates themed colorways, such as for characters in the Twilight series (Alice's Porsche, Esme Island, Jasper), Harry Potter series (Lupin, Slytherin Green), Alice and Wonderland (Cheshire Cat, Mad Hatter), etc. It's so fun to see her interpretations of these colorways and I always check back for new items that I can't resist! :)

This is just some of my Sunshine Yarns stash!

The second yarn I'm going to mention is a new yarn that I just started working with...Mirasol Sulka. It's 60% Merino Wool/20% Alpaca/20% Silk and it is so lovely to work with!! I am currently making a cowl out of the book Mirasol Mini Knits that I picked up from a LYS. It's so soft, easy to work with, and comes in an array of beautiful colors...I highly recommend picking up some of this for your next project!

Mirasol Sulka in Snow White

Vampire's Perspective

Just picked up my 'hot-off-the-press" copy of:

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella (Twilight Saga)

I am actually really excited to read this short novella to the Twilight Series. It should be interesting to finally read about a perspective other than Bella's (not that I didn't love hers), but I guess I just think it will be kind of refreshing to know the story (within Eclipse) from another's point of view. Stephenie (described in her Introduction) writes that she feels Bree's story really adds to the plot of Eclipse and is basically a necessary component to the overall battle between the Cullens/wolves and the army of Vampires!

Eek...I'm ready to read it....although it is going to have to wait a few days (I know right, how on Earth can I wait) but I JUST started:

 The Host: A Novel

I guess you could say I'm on a Stephenie Meyer kick :)

And I am totally wrapped up in this one at the moment!!! Have any of you read this book yet? Totally didn't realize the depth of the storyline for this book...but it is intriguing, to say the least!

Anyway, only 24 more days until ECLIPSE!!!! I can't wait...I most definitely have my 'midnight showing' ticket and will be impatiently waiting in line for hours that day! :0

Knit & Crochet Blog Week: Day 3

One Great Knitter Write about a knitter whose work (whether because of project choice, photography, styling, scale of projects, stash, etc) you enjoy. If they have an enjoyable blog, you might find it a good opportunity to send a smile their way.

Day 3 Answer:

Well...my answer will be a little bit different that the description above. Because, currently a knitter/professional yarn dyer that I enjoy and admire is Dani from Sunshine Yarns!! I first heard about Dani's yarn after joining the knitting meet-up group that I attend weekly. A few girls in the group were talking about this yarn dyer who had Twilight-inspired skeins of yarn. I was like...hold up! What?! Oh my gosh, I've got to check this out...and I've been addicted ever since. She has become so popular, in fact, that on the days of her store update (usually Tuesdays at 11 MST), her yarn sells out in approx. 20 minutes!! It's insane!

Her eye for color and color combos is extraordinary!! She can see a picture or see something in nature and imagine a skein of yarn with those exact colors...and execute it down to the last detail! You just have to check it out. But, not only does she dye her own yarn, she also knits, blogs and personally deals with her customers in such a heart-felt way! She is amazing, basically!

For all you Twilight fans...she has colorways for Bella, Edward, Edward's Volvo, Twilight Baseball, Rosalie, Alice, Alice's Porsche, Bella's Truck, Bella's Lullaby, New Moon, Wolfsong...just to name a few. There are many more. Oh, and she has Harry Potter colorways as well. I'm telling you, she's got good stuff! :)

My FIRST Sunshine Yarns purchase..."Esme Island" in sport weight

Twilight Fans!

In case you hadn't heard...Stephanie Meyers is releasing a new novella/short story to the Twilight series.

It follows Bree, an original character featured in Eclipse. She was one of the newborn vampires in Victoria's army attempting to take down Bella and The Cullens.

Release date:

JUNE 5

Right before Eclipse is released in theaters...it should be an interesting read, especially with this new point of view!

Read more here, and here

Hello, my name is Kristin...and I'm a Twilight-AHOLIC!

It is true...I am among many who love The Twilight Saga! It all started when my friend Jessica (from IL) and I were looking for a movie to go see...there wasn't much playing, so I suggested we go see Twilight. I hadn't heard too much about it at that point, but what the heck! I convinced her and we stepped out of the movie DIE HARD fans!! :) I totally got her hooked and she'll tell anyone that to this day.

I had never read the books and still didn't, even after seeing the movie...until I moved out here to Monterey and had a lot more time on my hands. I picked up the first book...COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! Seriously, they are that good! The obsession begins after reading the first chapter, I swear.

Needless to say, I stood in line for about 3 hours to watch the midnight showing of New Moon back in the fall and was sitting on pins and needles until it came out last weekend! I think I had posted that I had reserved my copy of NM from Best Buy. Well, I couldn't wait until that Sat. for the new release...so, my friend Jen and I attended the NM Release party at Borders! Hahaha! :) And we had a blast! Check it out:

Posing in front of the "Upcoming Events" of the NM Release Party

Waiting (in)patiently for the NM festivities to start

There were all kinds of activities...charades, guess who said that quote, and actual debates about the movie(s) (e.g. this was Jenn's: Was it a big deal that Edwards volvo changed in NM?) Hehe :)

Needless to say...we were pretty exhausted by the end of the night...but here's our loot!

The party started at 10pm and ended right before midnight so that the purchasing line could form. Unfortunately, I had to wait to pick up my copy of NM until the next day, Saturday...but I couldn't resist picking up "Twilight in Forks"...a documentary on the town the books are based on! Come on...it's actually pretty cool. I think I might want to take a trip there the next time I visit my sis...it's only 4 hours from Seattle! :0

Jenn got her copy of NM and we proudly displayed our Twilight obsession...for one night at least!

New Moon Pre-Ordered? Check!

I just wanted to let everyone know that I caved and pre-ordered my copy of New Moon from Best Buy last night (thanks to the hubby's willingness to let me indulge in my obsessions)! :) I had been seeing the signs posted everywhere about all of these pre-order deals...and I was really just going to go and get it the day it comes out (March 20...in case y'all didn't know). But, it seems easier to just know that the day it comes out, I don't have to run around to multiple places (in case it's sold out at one place) or deal with the Twilight stampede of fans...I can just walk into Best Buy, pick up my copy and hurry home to have a New Moon party of my very own!!

So excited...and I hope there's a preview of Eclipse on that darn thing...we are all waiting VERY impatiently for it!