snow scene

wiseman-snow-scene
Originally uploaded by sparkle.plenty

I painted this Mary Wiseman pattern at the monthly Heart of Texas Tolers (HOTT) meeting. There's a few things that are a bit wonky, but overall I'm pleased.

butterfly plaques

butterfly-plaques
Originally uploaded by sparkle.plenty

I also made these butterfly pictures for my craft room, using an Avis Braun pattern. My craft room is just a cheery butterfly oasis. :-)

window valance

valance
Originally uploaded by sparkle.plenty

I painted this valance for my craft room using a Ginger Edwards pattern. It really looks great in my room.

Kiri shawl

kiri-shawl-blocked-closeup
Originally uploaded by sparkle.plenty

I finally finished my Kiri shawl. I started it last fall. Since I'm in grad school, I don't always have time to work on it, so that's why it took so long! I used Zephyr yarn and did 12 pattern repeats.

Finishing projects in January

I took advantage of winter break and really got a lot done in all my crafts. It was so great to have time to finish things that have been in a holding pattern.

About My Site

There’s not much rhyme or reason to this site. It’s really just my playground. I mostly keep the Crafts happenings updated with my various knitting and painting projects. I'll also keep a list of the last three books I've read. Every once and a while I’ll update on travels or stuff we're doing around the house.

I picked up knitting a few years ago and I'm totally hooked. I learned to crochet as a kid and I do that occasionally too. Knitting is much more portable than painting or rubber stamping, and also a lot easier to squeeze in a few minutes here and there. I'm completely addicted. Now if work and school wouldn't interfere with my craft time, life would be grand. :-)

I’ve been decorative painting for a number of years. Sharon got me started; she would like to open her own studio some day, so she recruited three people to be her guinea pigs. It's a lot of fun, and much more relaxing than just watching TV. People seem to think I have a lot of talent to do this, but really I just know how to color things in. :-) I just trace a pattern onto a surface, and follow the instructions for painting the pattern. It’s easy and fun!

I work in acrylics and paint mostly on wood, fabric, and tin. I take an occasional watercolor class, and will hopefully start playing with that more.