Awakening my inner Celt with Outlander!

So I must have had my head in the sand for the last several years.  The only Outlander I had ever heard of was the Mitsubishi we used to own.

Then I saw an article on Facebook about a new Starz TV series called Outlander.  The ad depicted a beautiful dark-haired woman walking away with a dazzlingly handsome Scot.  But she was also reaching for a man whose face I couldn't see.  As if there were any doubt not to follow Mr. Kilt!

Upon further study, I found out all about the TV series and I realized I actually have access to Starz through my cable company.  So I sat down to watch the show and I was hooked!  I didn't realize the show was based on a series of books until I had already watched the third episode.  Enter me buying the first book for my Kindle app:

A well written, easy to read tome written by Diana Gabaldon.  After I started the book, I started speaking highly of the whole endeavor to my Scottish-American husband and he decided he wanted to watch the show.  So I went back and watched all episodes with him, including the fourth one, which just aired last weekend and featured the author herself, as well as Ronald Moore, the executive producer, in cameo appearances. How cool is that?

The main characters in the series are Colum:

Dougal:

Frank:

Mrs. Fitz:

Laoghaire:

Geillis:

Murtagh:

but most of all, there's Claire:

and of course, our sweet Jamie.

One huge, unexpected plus on the show for us yarn crafters is the fact that the women have been donning gorgeous knitted wool cowls and fingerless gloves.  That makes me really want to learn how to knit well.  I can try to imitate them through the art of crochet, but crochet did not exist in 18th century Scotland.  Maybe I will learn how to make one of these lovely items soon.

I haven't been sleeping enough this week because of the book!  I am so excited to see how they bring this story to life because they have done a bonny job so far!

If you have not seen the show, subscribe to Starz and watch it immediately.

If you have not purchased the book(s), do so as swiftly as you can!

Ye will not regret it!

Et juste un dernier mot:

Je suis prête pour toi, Jamie!  ;)

Happy February!

Ah, February:  it's my birth month, The Walking Dead returns, Valentine's Day is right around the corner and we celebrate American presidents by taking another day off school and work.  Close To My Heart's spring/summer idea book and catalog just went live and the Groundhog saw his shadow, predicting six more weeks of winter.

I fully intend to enjoy this month even though I am turning another year older.  I had an injury last week that I am still reeling from but I am getting better.  I have resolved to exercise more and take daily walks once my leg heals and the weather turns warmer.  Of course, it looks like a big winter storm is on its way starting Tuesday and the weather will be frigid after that so outdoor time looks doubtful for a while.  But I will start being more active, despite the fact that I love to crochet, scrapbook, make cards, and participate in other sedentary activities.  Can anyone relate to that?

Anyway, I have been busy making soap this past week.  Here are a few of the soaps that are either curing on the rack in the basement or still forming in the mold:

Dragon's Blood soap

Lime Mint soap (my all-time favorite scent)

Sunflower soap

Verbena soap

Very Sexy for Men soap

I have also done some knitting:

And some crocheting:

Some cardmaking:

And even some sewing:

So seriously, who has time to exercise, right?  Well, I will need to make more time because my health depends on it.  My age isn't getting smaller and I really need to start taking better care of myself.  

Happy February, everyone!  Enjoy the days getting longer, the second half of season 4 of The Walking Dead, your loved ones, and all the U.S. presidents.  

Anyone want to join me for a walk, say right around February 23?  Let me know!

--Jenn

P.S.  I just found out about Phillip Seymour Hoffman's passing.  My heart goes out to his family and friends.  I loved him in everything I saw him in and I will miss seeing him in movies.  Here he is in one of my favorites:

Rest in peace, Mr. Hoffman.

I've become a knitting fiend!

I have been crocheting for the last two years pretty consistently, as my right wrist tendonitis can certainly attest to.   I have dabbled in knitting a time or two and have even taken a beginner's class.  But knitting always left me feeling inadequate and deathly afraid of dropping stitches.  I pretty much have avoided that entire aspect of yarncrafting except to admire other people's beautiful handiwork.  

Yet for some reason, a couple of weeks ago I bought several Red Heart Boutique Sashay yarns (what am I talking about--I'm sure it's because they were on sale and the gorgeous colors called out to me!) and decided to try to knit one of those lovely ruffle scarves that so many people wear these days.  I watched a few You Tube videos on how to make them but couldn't exactly figure it out and was left frustrated once again by knitting.  But the next day I tried it again, determined to figure it out once and for all.  And surprise, surprise!  I finally had success!  

The first scarf I made was using Sashay Team Spirit in gold/black.  Those are the colors of the school where I teach and I think it's very pretty.  I don't usually wear yellow so this is a bold statement for me.  I figure I will wear this on Fridays when we teachers get to dress down and wear school related apparel.

Here is the next one I made:

This yarn is called Conga.  I remember buying this last year when I first had the thought of making this scarf but had no idea how and gave up.  I need to stop giving up so easily.  :)  

And my latest scarf finished late last night:

This is my favorite color so far--Salsa.  The colors are more beautiful than this photo demonstrates, with gorgeous jewel tones in shades of purple, red, and orange.

Michaels had Sashay on sale last week and I picked up a few more:

Of course, there is the black/gold in case someone at school wants one.  Then there are three Sashay Metallic colors of Aquamarine, Amethyst, and Rubies.  And lastly, the one on the bottom that I plan on starting next, Disco.  

My friend Connie has bartered with me to teach her how to knit this ruffle scarf over Thanksgiving break.  She is a fabulous chef and she is going to bring me something homemade in exchange for learning how to make a scarf.  She will get a pretty Sashay Boutique ruffle scarf and I will get some homemade deliciousness--sounds like a pretty good deal to me.