thank you secret pal!

On Saturday I got an awesome package of goodies from my secret pal. I love everything in it! There were 2 skeins and 2 balls of alpaca yarn - can you believe this is my FIRST alpaca yarn??!! I didn't know what I was missing; it is soooo soft. The blue is hand painted. And there's a cute travel-theme tape measure - in honor of my upcoming trip, right? very nice! Plus some air freshener, lip aid, and hand creme. thank you SP!!

My baby - Scout

Here's my gorgeous girl, Scout! She is our second black lab. She was supposed to be a fancy-shmancy show dog (she has quite the pedigree) but because she has some white hair on her legs and muzzle (called brindle), she became available for us! She is very loving, has the run of the house all the time, and sleeps in her own twin bed in my son's bedroom :-)

Guess who she's named after.

coffee swap 2 questions

1. Whole bean or ground? either is fine but prefer whole bean so I can grind it
2. Fully-loaded or decaf? extremely fully loaded
3. Regular or flavored? regular, love roasts
4. How do you drink your coffee? hot and black
5. Favorite coffee ever? I love it all as long as it's good coffee and not weak or watery
6. Are you fussy about your coffee or will any old bean do? any good coffee, i.e. not maxwells
7. Favorite treats to have with your coffee? pastries!!! donuts!! sweet breads, muffins, YUM
8. Anything else about your coffee preferences? for a treat I do occasionally get a latte preferably NOT from starbucks. We have 2 Java Jive indies near us that have drivethrough. Oh and in the winter a friend and I will get peppermint mochas during a girls night out of shopping.
9. Yarn/fiber you love? pretty much anything. love cotton or cotton blends. prefer weight lt. worsted or below (hot in NC)
10. Yarn/fiber you hate? acrylic, not too crazy about hairy mohair
11. What's on your needles? socks, cardigan for arwen
12. Favorite colors? love red, browns, greens, love any non-kelly green, denim color, I like lots of colors
13. Allergies? nope
14. Anything you really love, really don't like, or just need to get off your chest? I cannot wait to go on vacation. I need a break! I'm off to an artists workshop with Kim English instructor in Ruiodoso NM - meeting a good friend there and we're staying at the artist retreat which is a cool adobe house next to a mountain stream. It'll be the first time I've painted from live models - oil painting. I'm actually kind of nervous since I haven't done much figurative work at all. I might just set up my own still life and paint that! I can paint a bowl and a pear!!

joining knitters' coffee swap

round 2 of the knitters' coffee swap has begun!

New Mexico here I come (again)

For the past three years I've attended an artists' workshop at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico. The workshop is with Ann Templeton and we paint outside all day long. It's an amazing experience. The retreat is rather remote and very rustic - it's almost like camping. I've met some great friends there. Here's a picture of some of us (I'm on the far right).

I'm on may way there for a fourth time in May07.

Also, on the knitting front, I've joined the sockapalooza4 sock swap. Can't wait for it to begin!

ideas for new tvyarn colorways?

This weekend I think I'll try out some new colorways for the tvyarn line in whiteoakstudio. Maybe some oranges/reds, yellows, and violet/purple. And there's a new navy bluish color that I've been wanting to try out.

If YOU have any ideas for colorways for your favorite tv show or movie, leave me a comment and I may just try it out!!

Jana @ whiteoakstudio

whew!!

Well I've opened my etsy shop. I wasn't quite ready but decided to just jump in and figure things out as I went along. It's going pretty smoothly. I'm offering special freebies to SecretPal10 members and the 52PairPlunge KAL. Should be lots of fun! I have one more colorway to post, hopefully tomorrow. From then on I will send an announcement to my http://groups.google.com/group/whiteoakstudio whenever I post new items and colorways. Come join the fun!

STEP AWAY FROM THE YARN

step away from the yarn
Originally uploaded by whiteoakstudio.

Do you ever get so enamoured of yarn that you think someone should force you to leave it alone? I do. I hear someone using a bullhorn shouting "STEP AWAY FROM THE YARN."

I have mountains of yarn almost ready to sell. Just have to neaten the skeins and take photos. What fun!

Color Swap March - from Sonya

Look at the goodies I got from Sonya in the March Color Swap. My Mom is modeling the goods, along with her dog Charlie. Aren't they cute? Sonya spoiled me with:
- an awesome felted vase, which I will use to hold my knitting needles. See her blog for the whole story.
- the book "Socks, Socks, Socks", has gorgeous pictures and patterns
- 2 balls wildfoote sock yarn
- neat ball of bamboo yarn
- green tote
- beautiful, reversible green knit-tote. Just the right size for sock knitting.
THANK YOU SONYA!