Spoons & Stitches

While I was walking through Michael's Arts and Crafts a few weeks ago I saw a skein of Red Heart Shimmer yarn. I had already been seeing visions of a peppermint swirl design in a scarf or a hat. When I saw the Shimmer in red and white I knew I had to make those little balls of shiny goodness into something fun for Christmas! As you can probably tell by the name of this scarf, I had visions of peppermint sticks in mind. I tried a number of ways to make the strips go diagonal, but after starting a few different designs, I decided that vertical strips would be better. I really love the way this came out, so I'm sharing it with you. Supplies: 1 ball Red Heart Shimmer white 1 ball Red Heart Shimmer red H size crochet hook Piece of cardboard or similar item to wrap your yarn to size the fringe Yarn needle Scissors Scarf Body Using the white yarn, ch 252. (I like my scarves really long and this reached about to my knees. You can make it any length you w

So a while back I posted my little rant about Christmas cookies, potlucks, and peanuts . If you missed it, the gist is that I am newly allergic to peanuts and am having a tough time guessing what has peanuts and what doesn't, particularly in the cookie category. Last week we had a Division-wide potluck at work. I had asked our office manager if she could ask folks to just post what they were bringing that contained peanuts. Her answer, "I'm not sure, I'll see what I can do." I was nervous at first due to the non-committal nature of her response. But as it turns out she did great! She arranged two tables-one for items with nuts and one for items without nuts. Works for me! I'll admit that I prefer to just avoid things with peanuts, as other nuts don't bother me. However, it's easier to avoid everything with nuts than to guess and get a migraine. Thanks, Kay! This week my team has what they call "BAD Goodie day." BAD is my team acronym s

Edith Poteat, March 2011 Those of you who know me are aware that my beloved Grandmother, Edith Corinne Winkler Beach Poteat, passed away on November 30. I am happy to consider that she is in a much better and happier place for her. I like to think she's up in Heaven now looking down on all of us, her children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren, ready to have the best Christmas ever. For the last few years it has been tough for the grandchildren and great-grandchildren to come see Grandmommie for Christmas. It's tough for all of us to find the time off work or the ability to travel. Grandmommie only got to see those of us who could visit. But this year she can watch all of us at once no matter where we are. While she is not with us physically, she is here in spirit. She is in every holiday thought that I have. Her recipes are being made in my home and in those of my cousins, sister, mother, and entire family. I will enjoy trying to make her chex mix, figuring out