Friday, December 17, 2010

Free Shipping Day... And I love being a Localvore

Hi all - happy Free Shipping Day! To celebrate I'll be having free shipping in the Etsy shop, but I think my free shipping will go all the way until Christmas. This deal also includes international orders! The US Post Office estimates that items shipped to the continental US by First Class mail will arrive by Christmas if shipped by Monday, Dec 20th. Time to find those last minute gifts!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/knittyvet
In other news, we picked up our first winter farm share from the wonderful Swartz Family Farm in North Amherst. Delicious! I love the idea of continuing our local eating into the cold months of winter, and I ADORE their fresh, pesticide-free salad greens!

Wow! Look at all that great produce. And yes... a bad cat.

Happy one week to Christmas!

Friday, December 10, 2010

This one's for the birds

The feeders are stuffed, the kitties are alert, 'tis the season for birdwatching! We've got a column feeder full of black oil sunflower seeds and several resident birds... So far I counted 4 species today - I'll be keeping a list and post more birds as I see them. The pictures I will be posting are taken with gratitude from fellow Etsians' shops. Please click on the photo for more info about the picture or item! For today:

1. Black Capped Chickadee- This lively little guy is also the state bird of Massachusetts. They can decrease their core body temperatures by 10-12 degrees F to conserve energy during cold winter nights! Click HERE to visit a wiki page to hear the chickadee's call.
2. Tufted Titmouse- These birds are generally friendly and inquisitive... and they have a great name! Click HERE for their call.3. Dark-eyed Junco - Another bird with a great name, this little sparrow tends to hunt for food on the ground in small flocks.
4. Northern Cardinal - We all know this common winter bird. We have a male and female pair that visit the feeder on a regular basis. Click HERE for the sounds of a male.
To completely change gears for a moment, I recently received an email from CISA (Community Involved in Local Agriculture) about local eggs, chickens, and other assorted poultry and fowl. Our local farmers are necessary and inspiring - do you have a way you can support farmers in your area?

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Tempting Tuesday - Gifts for sisters

I hope everyone who was celebrating enjoyed their Thanksgiving weekend - plenty of family, food, etc...

Now that we are turning our thoughts toward shopping for the holidays, I thought I'd post a little treasury of some unique gift ideas for that very special family member - the sister!

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Special Orders

I've been knitting up a storm around here - thought I'd share some of the outcome...

We have some lovely mittens for adults and children all made out of scrumptious superwash wool. Enjoy!

Saturday, November 6, 2010

A Knitty Opportunity - and Cyclo-cross

Nice sunny day = watching cyclo-cross, taking lots of product shots like the one to the left, and visiting the yarn store (only a little bit, I promise).

The cats have been a just a bit put out since our cyclo-cross friends brought their Austrailian Cattle Dog puppy to visit. Our shyer cat Caramel hides upstairs (under the bed or in the bathtub... whichever is available), while Tricksy simply stares down the puppy and steals her food. Classic Tricksy. Cyclo-cross, in case you were wondering, is a very cool combo of road biking, mountain biking and obstacle course. Watch the following for a little taste, complete with overly epic music:


The Cattle Dog puppy also REALLY likes wool (socks, yarn skeins, yarn projects.... basically our whole HOUSE) which segues nicely into the actually title of the post.

There is a more than vibrant (buzzing? frenetic?) knitting presence on the web, and I thought I would share just three items of interest.

Item the 1st: Ravelry.com! Most of my knitting, crocheting, or fiber arts readers probably know about this site already, but for those of you who dont - go over there and get your knit on! There are patterns, forums, help sessions, a trading post, and lots of fiber, yarn and inspiration in the way of FOs. My username is KnittyVet (just like on Etsy) - feel free to look me up and say hi! Here is one of my FOs posted on Ravelry:
Item the 2nd: KnitPicks.com is great online one stop fiber arts shopping. This is a known fact. Right now they are also running a contest on their Stash blog to win 20 balls of yarn and a free pattern. The contest is promoting a new feature allowing crafters to buy one pattern at a time from popular books - definitely a savings if you are like me and usually end up buying the whole book to get at one particular pattern. You have until Nov. 10th to enter the contest - simply leave a comment on the Stash Blog!

Item the 3rd: Tomorrow I am planning on attending the Fiber Festival of New England in Springfield, MA... If you are anywhere in the area it sounds like quite the good time - Moo Dog Knits from over at moodogpress.com says there are over 200 vendors - and sheep! Yay!

I think this post contains my first embedded video... Does that mean I can graduate blogger pre-school?

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Tempting Election Tuesday

Happy Election Day! I've thrown together a quick Voting Treasury featuring artists and collectors from many states of the union. Just click on the screenshot to go see the treasury. Get out there and do your civic duty folks!

Sunday, October 31, 2010

I guess this is a seasonal blog...

...But if so, now begins the blogging season!

Happy Hallowe'en! - This year we put together some Pumpkins for Sanity and/or Fear.



A quick wrap up of the summer: Lots of gardening (mostly watering... we had very Sarahan summer), vetting (now a regular part-time gig), and enjoying visits by family and friends.

I've also been occupied helping establish the Artisans of Western Massachusetts as a legitimate non-profit organization. We are over 50 members and growing fast - feel free to visit the AWM website by clicking on the logo. You can find great handmade items made with love by local artists.

My artwork and knitting has been squeezed in between the previously mentioned activities - I did get a chance to do some custom work of a very sweet kitty.

I also had fun putting together a few treasuries using the great new treasury tool over at Etsy.com. Now... we're cleaning the garden, raking leaves, and enjoying cozy wood fires and mulled apple cider. I hope to keep the blog a bit more updated... but right now it is time to go light the pumpkins!

Stay safe, and remember to VOTE on Tuesday!

-k





Sunday, September 12, 2010

Gratuitous Garden Post

Ok, the weather is more like fall and I've emerged from a long hot summer full of gardeny goodness and watering. Lots of watering. While I get the blog back into some sort of order here are some random garden pics...





Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Tempting Tuesday - Help the Gulf Coast

The following items are from shops donating some or all profits to recovery efforts along the Gulf Coast. Good cause, shop well.












Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Tempting Tuesday - Up, up and Away

I spent a wonderful summery day dodging raindrops and building trellises for vertical growth in the garden. Up up and away!


1. Cuff links for the discerning gentleman in your life - make a fashion statement!


2. Decorate your walls with artwork inspiring you to take flight.


3. A lovely locket for your secret treasures.


4. Lunaria seed pods add to this ephemeral artwork.


5. This print reminds me of good friends and care-free summer vacations.


6. Don't be fooled by the fancy frame - this lovely piece is actually a 40 page journal!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Tempting Tuesday - Pretty Pink Wedding

We have the good fortune to be attending a family wedding this weekend - I thought I'd make this week's temptation a tribute to the happy couple! Enjoy!





Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Tempting Tuesday - Graduation

Happy graduation season - I've found a few great gifts for that special graduate in your life!


1. This striking pen from moonskywoodworks would be a stellar gift for any aspiring writer, signer, or new grad with a need for a cool pen!


2. These little laser printed beans from LaserBeamCreations actually grow real bean plants with the message still imprinted on the first leaves! Cool!


3. Earrings from PunkyJane celebrate the current graduation year in sterling silver.


4. This leather bound journal from julieboyles is handmade with lots of special details.


5. This special soap is for brainiacs only. KcSoapsNMore brings us this cotton candy, brain shaped goat milk soap. Bet you've never seen that before!

6. As the new graduate sets out on their journey through life, send them with a beaten copper tag from bellabeadstudio.

Thanks for looking, have a lovely week!