A Special Occasion And A Stash Haul

Two weeks ago Mark and I went to California to attend our son's graduation.  In the past we have enjoyed seeing him graduate from high school, where he was the valedictorian, and then college.  But this graduation was quite a special one.  Matt earned his PhD in chemical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley.

This was a big, gigantic deal for us.  We saw how hard Matt worked for this and understand all of the good he can do with his degree.  So I'm proud to say that he is now Matthew J. Pavlovich, PhD.  Or Dr. Matthew Pavlovich.  Wow, I still have to get used to that.

We enjoyed our trip to the west coast, and did a lot of things -- visited San Francisco's Chinatown, went to a SF Giants Game and did a little wine tasting in Napa.  We also celebrated with our new graduate and his girlfriend, Stephanie, at a very lovely restaurant in Napa. 

The view from our hotel's parking lot.

Of course, there is one place in the Bay area that I couldn't resist visiting and that's Needle In A Haystack. 
It's less than a half hour drive from the Oakland airport so we made a stop there on the way in.  Just like my previous visit, I was blown away by the selection of threads.  They have a wonderful collection of charts too and the staff is extremely helpful.  I know that you want to know what I came home with. 

First, there's the "Needle Lady Pocket" by LHN.  This just appealed to me, plus making a needlebook will be a new adventure for me.  It called for brown wool, but I chose green.  I figure that the fat quarter I bought will be enough for the needlebook AND some Christmas ornament crafting.

I had been eyeing the Frosty Forest charts from Country Cottage Needleworks for some time.  When I was at Needle in a Haystack, I found that they had all of the charts (to date) plus the fabric already cut to size and ready to go.  I couldn't pass that up.

Here's a chart I've never seen before.  It's Ink Circles' "Turtles All The Way Down".  Mark likes turtles (he has been known as the "turtle whisperer" and has rescued many turtles from impending doom), so I happily snapped up this chart!

I also bought two Ink Circles charts for Sheila, who was looking after our cats while we were gone.  She seemed very happy with those, along with the box of See's assorted chocolates that I gave her.

All in all a very happy trip.  Coming home with some sweet charts doesn't hurt either.

Remember that the deadline for entering The Snowflowers Diaries Blog's giveaway is tomorrow, June 1 at 12:00 P.M.!  This is a truly generous giveaway and the offerings are lovely!  Don't miss it!