2 Bags Full - My adventures in travel, knitting, and the blessings of my every day life.: January 2015

so pure...
so white,
the most beautiful creation,
SNOW

words cannot describe

the delicacy of one tiny little flake

falling to the ground...

so fragile~

one of the few redeeming

qualities of winter is

the true and absolute beauty

of snow~

there is nothing

so magical as looking out your window

and watching those first flurries

falling to the ground~

(this beautiful snow owl vase was created by my friend Julie Whitmore)

when the snow builds up

outside our houses,

we are enveloped inside our own warm

little nests~~

it is the time for

fuzzy slippers, a cozy blanket,

and a cup of

steaming hot cocoa~

the snowfall is silent,

so slow--

with a delicate whisper,

it settles upon
the earth~

white and weightless,

the snow makes no noise~

it falls on the fields gently,

blanketing everything with its

pure and silent

covering~

"I wonder if snow loves the trees and fields...

it covers them up snug, you know

with a white quilt;

and perhaps it says,

Go to sleep, darlings,

till the summer comes again"

-Lewis Carroll

sleeping softly through the day,

never making a sound,

only waking up

when the sun goes down,

that is when little Snowbirds

come out to play~

she opens her eyes

ready to fly,

wings at the ready

on the edge of her nest...

she flies from the forest

into the night

her path lit by the light of the moon~

Coming next January

just in time for the winter snows...

an exciting new addition

to my Designer nest series--

Soon to come--

the beautiful, icy, glittery, white

Snowbird nest.

each little nest will come with it's own

beautiful glass

"Snowbird"

you may reserve yours now if you wish

(there will be 30 to share)

Just keeping it real~~

I would have to pick one of the coldest days of the year

for this photo shoot!

Took me all day to take these photos

as I could only stay outside about 10 minutes at a time!!
I think I wore 3 layers of clothes!

Are you ready for spring yet? I am so ready! --- between the cold, the icy roads, the threat of icy roads, the gray days, ---- I am desperate for sunny and warm. Sigh~

I've been busy working on the little Woodland nests all winter, -- those of you on the list, should have heard from me by now. Soon, I will be starting the Shabby Chic nests -- so if you are on that list -- you will hear from me soon.

Thank you to everyone who turned out for my third "Grow Your Blog" party. We are off and running and it has been a wonderful experience already for so many new bloggers. There are over 300 blogs participating. If you would like to make some new blogging friends, you are invited to visit the party list and travel the world of blogging! (the link to the party is on my sidebar).
Thank you especially to all my volunteers who helped me this year -- almost 40 people were needed to help me monitor this year's party! So many of you have emailed me to say that your readership has grown already and some of you have actually doubled your followers! I am so happy for the success of your blogs and that you are beginning to enjoy the rewards of blogging.

For the next few weeks, I am taking a little blog break -- This has been a very, very, busy winter -- with nesting, long hours spent on the blog party, and... I've had some awful something that has hung on forever ---

I'm going to take some time to feel better, to begin to work on the photos for our virtual travels to the Gaspese, and to find the sunshine...
If you need me -- I am always here-- vboster1@windstream.net.

Love,love,

Vicki

Welcome to my "grow Your Blog" 2015 party!

I am so very happy to have the opportunity to host this party once again! My sincere welcome to those of you who are participating for the very first time and to all of you who have come back once again to visit and participate with us here. I am just blown away by the incredible response to this party -- I think we have over 400 blogs participating this year --(the final count will be made tomorrow.)

The purpose of this party is to meet new blogging friends and to extend an open invitation to "follow" each other. There are SO many blogs in the "less than 100 Followers" category -- more than ever before. I have met so many wonderful folks and seen some truly amazing blogs in this category. So while, you are visiting and making new friends, please take an extra moment or two to make a special effort in visiting these blogs who are just beginning their journey and want very much to make new friends. We do all remember what it was like to start as a new blogger and to want so desperately to have a dedicated family of followers!

Before I briefly introduce myself -- I just want to take a moment to tell you that it has not been all that long since I was a brand new blog writer. I remember all to well what it was like to publish my blog and wonder -- "is there anybody out there who reads this?"

In my early days of blogging, there were some wonderful ladies who, through their own blogs, helped me so very much--- Lynn and Dawn. I will always remember their kindness in helping me to bring attentions to my blog, and through their kindness, I was able to truly Grow my blog.

Now, I am so happy to pay that kindness forward. This party is my way of sharing that with all of you --- sharing with you the opportunity to meet new friends and to "Grow your own blogs".

My name is Vicki -- your host for this blogging event.

I love to knit

Am admittedly obsessed with yarn

(I have more yarn in my craft room than should be allowed!!)

I love to travel

I love my family, my husband, sisters,and our precious

grandbabies.

I blog about all of these things.

just a little sample of some of the things

that I do with yarn...

and that other little thing I do with yarn--

I make nests...

(you can read about them on my sidebar)

If you would like to join me in my

2 Bags's Full Facebook page

you can do so

by clicking here--

Some of the folks participating in this event will be hosting

a giveaway on their blog--

I would like to use this space

to introduce you to one of my dearest

and-- most talented friends--

My friend Sharon Lovejoy is an amazing author.

She has dedicated her life to writing

for children.

Her latest novel,written for young adults,

is a captivating story of young courage

that takes place in the

pre-Civil War era.

You can read about Sharon's latest novel

by clicking here

~~~

My giveaway will be an autographed copy

of Sharon's latest novel.

The giveaway will take place on February 15.

Everyone who visits my blog and leaves a comment

will be entered in the contest.

I will post the winner here--

so please make sure that I have a way to contact you.

You can find Sharon at her blog

where she shares her gardening expertise

and talks about her

wonderful life in sunny California and coastal Maine.
Be sure to visit her and say "Hello"!

Sharon Lovejoy writes from Sunflower House and the Little Green Island

You can find Sharon at her popular facebook page
here--

Update ---

the winner of the book -- "Running Out of Night"

is Sherry from the blog Createology.

This contest is now CLOSED.

NOW --- on to THE PARTY!!!

Before you begin -- a few brief notes to mention -
My email -- vboster1@windstream.net

1. please check your own blogs for any mistakes I may have made.
I have 40 wonderful volunteers, if your link is wrong they will catch it -- but you are free to email me as well. No need to panic.
I will be home and at my computer all day --- if there is a mistake I will fix it very quickly I promise!

2. There are so many new blogs this year in every category -- but especially the "less than 100 followers" category. Perhaps you might especially try to visit some of those folks and become friends with them. We all remember how hard it was to start into blogging and to begin to grow a follower family.

3. This party post will remain up for the entire year. There will be a link to it at the top of my sidebar for the year. So please know that you will continue to receive visitors throughout the year. I would suggest that you consider leaving your party post up for a minimum of 2 weeks before you move on to you next posting. You should also consider a link on your sidebar or someplace easily found that will take folks to your party post after you have moved on to other postings.

Welcome to the party!

Meet my wonderful group of Party Volunteers !
(this party has become so BIG --- I could not possible host this
event without their help! A huge THANK- YOU to everyone who volunteered to help me this year!)

~~~~~1.
A Half Baked Notion -- Monique

Alaska Blue Moose -- Karen

Apple and Apricot -- Wendy

Aunt Marti and 52 Quilts -- Marti

Back Porchervations --LuAnne

CatieAn and Company -- CatieAn

Comptonia --Quinn

Deb's Artistic Impressions --Deborah

Debbie's Corner -- Debbie

Dreaming of Vintage -- Kelly

~~~~~2.

Fil's Place- Old Songs and Memories-- Fil

From My Carolina Home --Carole

Full Circle --Rhonda

Good Golly Ginger --Katie

KathyinOzarks Pages -- Kathy

Hooked on Quilting -- Gloria

Home-Ec-Mama -- Jennifer

Lou Messugo -- Phoebe

Mosaic Magpie -- Debbie

My Painted Garden -- Erin

~~~~~3.
Nanmade -- Nan

Normandy Life -- Maggie

Pretty Little Things in a Box -- Angela

Roses, Lace and Brocante -- Shane

Shauna's World -- Shauna

Shirleystitches -- Shirley

Stitch Lines -- Linda

~~~~~4.
Stitch and Quilt -- Thearica

Stitchin At Home -- Cindy

Sugarplum Patchwork-- Laney

Sunflower House Art -- Debbie

Suziqusthreadworks -- Suzy

The Crafter's Apprentice --Wendy

The Enchanting Rose --Stephanie

The Seared Blue Haired Comment -- Tammy

The Whimsical Dowager --Beth

Thistle Cove Farm --farm life, travels

ThreadPainter's Art -- Sharon

Under a Creative Spell -- Asia

Val's Quilting Studio -- Val

Less than 100 followers

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