New Orleans

Better late than never  :-)

Bragging on my Bestie

 Some of you have met my Bestie from Georgia, Barbara. She recently made the Pretty Basic Shawl by Janina Kallio . It's a beautiful shawl pattern and I love what Barbara did with it.

 She used one of my favorite hand dyed yarns, in fact it's the yarn that I use for my picture here on the blog.

Please feel free to leave a comment for Barbara!

The Last I Remember...

  Well the last I remember it was the first part of March. I had just posted my Foothills Sock  and my daughter and I had a trip to New Orleans planned. Along with that my mom had been hospitalized twice, my uncle passed away and my great-aunt has had a very serious stroke. A lot to handle, YES, can it be done, YES.

  So where do I start?
Let's just talk about the happy things. New Orleans was AMAZING! This is a city that you much experience for yourself. I am serious about this. We were treated so well, and everyone that we came in contact with was so kind and friendly. The city kind of reminds me of a big city on a limited amount of land. There is something to do every minute of the day, and the food industry there is nothing like I have ever experienced. My daughter, (Sara) got to meet the Executive Chef for Emeril's New Orleans, and got a full tour of where she will be working. She is so excited and I am for her also. She has a place to live and April 5th, we will be moving her down there. The apartments are so nice. River Garden Apartments on St. Andrews. Now that has it's own set of problems since the original plans got changed. So we are looking for someone to drive down there with us. Long story. Anyway, the Tuesday evening we were there, the chef invited us for dinner. We were treated so well. I have never seen a dinner service so on point. We sat at the chef's bar, looking into the kitchen being able to watch everything that was cook and watching the back kitchen staff. What an amazing experience. If you would like to see some fantastic photos of the restaurant , menu, staff, etc check out this link. Emeri's New Orleans.

  Creatively New Orleans was such an inspiration. So many artists there, and new ideas. On this next trip down there I hope to spend a little more time talking to the local artists and hanging out in the yarn shops.


While all this has been going on I've been expanding my hand dyeing skills. Mixed Berries & Cream and Bermuda are just a couple of the new techniques and colorways to come. I really appreciate the women who have willing and graciously shared what they have learned but more important I appreciate and am so grateful that these women love to share their knowledge in hopes that you will take what they have learned and make it your own, and turn it into "your own". Our talents and gifts will never grow and they will die with us, unless we share them, unless we plant those seeds into someone elses dreams.  (soap box warning, LOL) These ladies do not have a heart of competition, but a giving heart because they are confident in what they do, and what they know. 

  So off I go to start an evening of dyeing. The coffee is ready and the music is rockin'.

Foothills Sock

The Foothills Sock is now available on  Ravelry and  SmokyMountainColors. I have to thank Cristi for the inspiration for the sock with the Twisted Edge. It's awesome. Here is a link for you to check out her wonderful knitted items. http://turtlegirl76.com .


Now how about a little catch up. :-)


It's been way too long and I have really missed blogging. But, I now have a good reason for updating and loading you all with photos. This afternoon I am headed with my daughter to New Orleans where she will be working at Emeril's. One of Emeril Lagasse's restaurants. Also I have to brag on my son, he is getting so close to his dream of being in the military. He has lost 60 lbs. He looks so great, and he is so healthy, loosing the weight the right way. 


Right after I published the Foothills sock everything got crazy. Also going on at this time is my mom's health has declined and she has been pretty sick. I had to take her to the hospital Friday. We missed her brother's funeral because of it. So you can see, I have had my hands full. The good news is that I have some yarn that is waiting to get dyed. A few of you have requested a colorway that will be the first one I do. As soon as they are dry, you will get an email from me. You know who you are :-)


I have an update about the Foothills Sock. A friend of mine who is also a indie dyer, MoonT of Moon Holler (you can find her on Etsy and on Ravelry) is knitting my sock in some of her beautiful hand dyed. Check it out. I think it's amazing and refreshing when women can support each other. There is truly room for all of us and all our gifts and dreams.


I have a few new things for you on SmokyMountainColors. First off there is a new coupon code. The first Monday of every month use FIRSTMONDAY to get 20% off. Another code is for FREE shipping between March 9-15. Since these are the dates I'm in New Orleans, everything will be shipped when I get home. MARCH915 . 




Thank you for your patience and I can't tell you how much I appreciate you taking a minute to stop and read my blog. You are great!

Craftsy Update

Yesterday I was finishing up a class I was taking and thought I would check and see what was new at Craftsy that some of you may be interested in. As bad as I hate to admit it, there are other things in life to do. LOL. Anyway, I found these links and wanted to share them with you. Hope you enjoy!

Socks and Kickstarter

I know, what a strange title. Well it's all that I've been working on today. Trying to come up with a good name for my new sock pattern has turned into me over-thinking it. So I'm working on the pattern layout, editing and the chart, hopefully by the time I'm done a name will come to me. One thing about my patterns, it is very important to me that each pattern reads like I'm sitting there with you. That you have a knitting instructor taking you step by step.


Now I'm really excited about what I woke up to and have to share it. I was getting a notice on my phone that I received a new email. When I checked there was an email from Kickstarter and I had gotten two people making donations. It made my day. I am so grateful and excited.


Here is a closing thought for you. We tend to always be looking for something big to happen for us in the future, (you know that "one day....) but, what if we applied that same expectation and hope every morning when we got up for just that day? Try it, and see what happens, you have nothing to lose and something amazing to gain.


Blessed Be

Kickstarter Project, Have You Heard

Recently I was having coffee with my daughter and mentioned that with everything that has been going on I realized that if I had just a little boost everything would be taken care of for the Spring and Summer for Smoky Mountain Colors. She suggested that I look into Kickstarter. It's a program that hooks up artists with people who want to invest small amounts into different businesses for tax purposes. So I went and checked it out. MAN, was I surprised at the amount of money that some of these very talented artists raised. I in fact found two that I'm going to support. Anyway, with all that said I jumped in and created my Kickstarter project.  I based my project on just what I need to finish launching Smoky Mountain Colors into the Craft and Fiber Festival world. It's pretty exciting, and each person that donates gets something special from me, according to their donation. So if you have a minute, check out my link.


Play With The Colors Of The Smoky Mountains


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