Cable Knit Tote Bag

My mom is really into knitting tote bags lately, and we have several in the shop. I especially love the cable knit bags--they're perfect to carry a magazine or two, your planner or spiral notebook, a pen and your wallet and keys. Each one is lined in a matching cotton fabric, with inside pockets for added organization.

Great for a summer day, just grab it and go! Check out our shop here to see all our bags and other knitted lovelies.

A Franciscan Travel Blessing

This is one of my favorite quotes. I love the message. I used it on the last page of one of my daughter's high school scrapbooks, but it would be great for a graduation card too.

~~~

May God bless you with discomfort
at easy answers, half truths and superficial relationships
so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger
at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,
so that you will work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed
for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war,
so that you will reach out your hand to comfort them
and change their pain into joy.

May God bless you with the foolishness
to believe that you can make a difference in this world,
so that you will do the things that others tell you cannot be done.

My Etsy Shop

I started a little shop on Etsy in the summer of 2008. The shop really wasn't for me, it was more for my mom. She just LOVES to knit toys, and spends hours crafting the cutest little lovely stuffed plushies. She would sell her toys at a local craft fair to earn money to donate to a favorite charity.

I helped her out at a fair one summer day, and was shocked at the prices she was putting on her little friends--basically, she was charging people for the yarn and stuffing. A real crime, considering the hours of labor that went into each little plushie. The day of the fair was unbearably hot and humid, and by the time it was over, we were completely wiped out. And for all that work, she had probaby cleared $50.

I had been trolling around Etsy for a while then, and I talked mom into opening a little shop to sell her toys. Peanut and Tommy was born! We had so much fun getting the shop set up that I started making things to sell--knitted and crocheted toys, scarves, you name it. Most of our items are one of a kind, and you never know what we'll come up with next!

The name of our shop comes from a series of stories my dad created when my brothers and I were little. Peanut and Tommy were two little boys who had a lot of adventures and a lot of fun. Mom is thrilled that the shop honors my dad, who was always so supportive of mom and the toys she knits.

Starting a blog

The dashboard is set up, the space is organized. All kinds of little empty boxes sit on the screen in front of me, waiting to be filled. I need to dig out some words; fill the text box, complete the sidebars....hopefully there will be followers in the blank empty space that sits there now.

I clear out some time in my day to WRITE THE BLOG. I go to the desk, all business. NOW I am going to write the blog! It's time to get going....gotta put something in that empty space.

And the computer just sits in front of me, blank page glowing softly.

Guess I'll start the blog tomorrow.