Snow-my-gosh!

Whoa. What a winter weekend. Even after having grown up in the Midwest and living a large part of my adult life in Wisconsin, I have never seen this much snow in one fell swoop. The DC metro area was hit with a record breaking blizzard producing about 28-30" of snow. Keep in mind that this is an area that cancels school and activities for an inch or two of snow. So far school is canceled Monday and Tuesday and I'm guessing the entire week. We are walloped beyond belief!

Many many people are without power. Our neighborhood was cold and dark for about 30 hrs, Saturday and into Sunday. Plowed roads are a novelty and we are still quite buried. We hunkered down, bundled up and tried to entertain each other. There was a lot of reading, knitting and game playing by lantern and candle light. We have a gas stove so, thankfully, we could still cook something hot. Power returned midday Sunday, thank goodness! But...I am not holding my breath as it goes on and off frequently.

This is a photo of the park behind out house during the big snowfall. That rectangle in the lower right is a picnic table! The snow came right up to the benches.

In honor of the blizzard and to keep myself busy, I decided to start knitting a "blizzard scarf". I had some bulky winter-white yarn in my stash and got started with some fat needles for a quick knit. The drifts and swirly snow formations were my inspiration! I knit and knit and knit and was quite happy to do something productive happening during all of the time spent waiting.

This morning all was clear and calm and the sun shone brightly on the snow. I went out early with my camera to record some of the shapes and patterns formed in the drifts. And just look what I found...the perfect texture, created by a little squirrel between two trees...

My scarf design!

I'm calling this scarf design Drift. It is beyond thick and chunky and I just love it. The rippled technique is super fun and easy. I will tell you all about it as soon as I am done! I've got about a half a ball left, so I shouldn't be long now. Besides, I hear we've got more snow in store for Tuesday!

For those of you who follow me on twitter, thanks so much for your encouraging words during the blizzard! You guys are great!

make two, they're small

With February upon us I got working on a few things for the sweethearts in my life. I made a couple more baby mousies from my Squeak and Spike pattern, in Valentine colors. Just look what happens when you snuggle a pair of mousie friends up next to each other? They make a little heart shape! Two souls, one heart. What a sweet little set to give someone you love!

Writing the words "next to each other" made me think of another cute thing to share with you. My youngest used to say the phrase "next to der chudder". As in, "I want to sit next to der chudder!" We still use that phrase today, just to hang onto those long-since-spoken words of toddlerhood. Replaying those memories is one of the sweetest things in life.

What has become a family phrase in your house?

what can I say

I've been tinkering away at a new project and decided to give you a few glimpses of my work in progress. I'm not sure why, because I can't give you the full reveal or tell you anything about it for awhile. Ain't I a stinka? Well, believe me, it's agonizing for me not to blab about every little thing going on here in the BW Studio. (Just ask my husband how it is when he comes home from work. The poor dear.)

The project involves delicious felted wool in yummy colors....

...buttons, trims, little stitches...

...peeks of prints...

...whimsical touches....

The good news is, I will be teaching some "live" workshops (meaning in person!) later this year and this little work-in-progress is to be one of the projects featured! I'm hopeful that I can let more of the cat out of the bag soon.

P.S. Thanks for all of the lego love comments from the last post! That was fun...

building character

photos altered by the iPhone app, LEGO Photo.

Between bad head colds, days off from school and a husband working a lot of overtime, the past week or so has been discombobulated. Laundry has piled up, my work projects have come to a halt, and meal planning has gone out the window. Amidst the chaos there is one thing I am certain of: We are a household held together by Legos. Thank goodness for the hours of creative entertainment those little colorful blocks provide. The boys build, they play, they invent. They share (mostly), they pretend, they imagine...

I feel compelled to write a little booklet called, "Everything I know, I learned from playing with Legos" or "Life Lessons Learned from Legos" or some such titled book. An excerpt:

"It takes patience to find just the right piece"

"If a something doesn't fit, it doesn't fit. Wanting it to fit is not enough."

"Sometimes in life you have to stop looking in order to find what you need."

"If you step barefoot in the dark, you may find what you are missing. The hard way."

"Even the most plain and simple thing can be part of an amazing masterpiece."

"Sometimes you have to just pick up the pieces and start over."


Are you a Lego household?

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By the way, thank you for all over your votes over at Poppytalk. You guys rock! Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Fingers crossed!

nom nom nominated

Wow! I've been nominated for a Poppy!


The Poppies are a virtual awards event from the popular design blog, Poppytalk. There are 12 individual categories, like Favorite Handmade Textiles, Favorite Handmade Art, Favorite Photographer, etc. Now you can vote for your faves within each category. What a great way to celebrate the Handmade Community!

I'd be super grateful if you would vote for Betz White for the Favorite Handmade Eco Artist category for The Poppies by Thursday, January 28th.

This is the description of the Eco category from The Poppies:
"Eco meaning products made with the environment in mind. From repurposing/recycling, processes that are easy on the earth such as printmaking using soy-based inks, etc. (Organic, recyclable, reusable, repurposed, conflict and cruelty-free, ecological footprint)."

I'm honored and excited to be nominated. Between my organic print collections and my books based on recycling/repurposing, I strive to "stitch beautifully, tread lightly" and I hope to inspire you to do the same! If you're so inclined, you can vote for me right here. (and be sure to vote for your faves in the other categories while you're there!) Thanks so much for your generous support!