Just Something I Made

 Remember the Hapi Coat that was just finished? There was one skein left over. I thought there would be enough for the November Ruffle Wrap but there wasn't. So the major portion of this cowl is made like the wrap but finished up with more garter stitch edging. After sewing it together, I added the fringe just because I could.

Aren't these adorable? I needed containers for those cute little infant socks. These are made from envelopes, glue and ribbon. I followed along on this video. The actual folding and stuff starts around minute 4:00.

What I've been working on

I have this narrow area right beside the front door that I use for seasonal decorations. As the July decoration went up, I noticed how old and faded it looked. The red had faded out to a purple and the blue was almost non-existent. Out came the trusty pots of acrylic and the paint brushes and I have been painting a different color a day when I get home from work. The next step is the polyurethane as a final coat and then to refresh the bow. I was in one of the major hobby/craft stores the other day and noticed that burlap seems to be the big thing right now, so I might just add a burlap bow. 

What do you think? Would it look all right or would it overwhelm this? Just to give you a reference, this  wooden star is only 6" across.

Happy Feet

Have you ever used a product without knowing the maintenance of it? Many, many years ago, I was given a wool batt. I used it in a flannel quilt that got washed. I know, right? Big mistake because the batting felted. This was my first experience with felting. Not only did the batting felt, but the recipient of the quilt had popped some of the quilting stitches. This was another first for me: flannel has a lot more give than cotton and if you straight-line quilt a flannel quilt, the stitches can snap if a lot of stress is put on them. I removed the quilting and the batting from that quilt, replaced the batting with a poly bat and then tied the quilt and it is still in use.

Fast forward to today. You know that I saved that felted quilt bat, right? I just KNEW there would be a use for it someday. And I was right. These are my favorite pair of moccasins. Unfortunately, the inner sole is all but non-existent. I wondered the other day what that felted wool batting would feel like on the bottoms of my feet, so I cut a set of inner soles for these moccasins.

Oh joy, such happy feet. Not only are the inner soles cushy, but my feet are warm.

Is That You Santy Claus?

And so, I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas!

Inspired Ideas: The Christmas Issue

Here is a great little online mag for your enjoyment. It has some wonderful crafty Christmas items. Isn't this Yo-Yo Tree cute? This is just one of the offerings in this e-zine. There are wreaths and trees and felt and embroidery, O My!

When you click on the 'Open Publication' just below the embedded image it will take you to a full screen. Want to print something? Just move your cursor up to the top and a menu will pop up. Enjoy!

Open publication - Free publishing - More christmas

For Libby

Flip-flopping Along

I promised more on the flip-flops that garnered the second place prize. Here they are! Brand new pink flip-flops but the fun fur yarn came from the stash. I did not think there would be enough to make it & nice thick but it turned out there was almost 2 whole skeins!! wound up in that ball. So I just crocheted around the strap. At the last minute I pulled a pair of hand knit socks from my suitcase, stuffed them full of plastic bags so it looked like there were feet in the socks and put them 'in' the flip-flop.

The Top of the Tree

This year we have a little 3 foot tree for Christmas. I wonder where or how I acquired so many white crocheted snowflakes? With the addition of tinsel it is a pretty little tree. The only thing missing was a tree topper. Never having had an appropriate topper for this little tree, I set out to make one -- a crocheted angel of course. Thinking I had a pattern for one, I scoured the sewing room but did not come up with one. So then it was off to the internets. Yes, I found one, but I could not get past a certain point because the pattern just did not make sense to me. Remembering a crocheted clothespin doll pattern, I combined the head and wings from the one pattern with the dress from the other pattern and ended up with a sweet angel for the top of the tree.

Merry Christmas to all my internet friends!

Macrame

Macrame. The word just conjures up visions of the knotted jute plant hangers, doesn't it? But there are more practical uses of macrame than making large eyed owl hangings. In my mind's eye I see can see a macrame window covering similar to lace. Or, how about replacing the worn out handle on a basket made by a dear friend with a macrame handle? This handle is a four cord plait using a nylon macrame cord and will wear like iron.

The basket will wear out before the handles.

The Littlest Orphan & a completed object

I completed a few projects on the last day of 2007. This one could be the littlest orphan on the Orphan Train. I took one orphan block and combined it with one of my warm up quilting samples to make a case for my sunglasses/glasses. This started out as a triangular log cabin quilt in the 1980s. The other blocks have found their way into various projects and this one lone block was left. This shows how old my stash is (at least in the notions) because I actually found some pre-made bias binding in just the color I needed. *grin* I laid the case on a snow bank in case you are wondering about the background.

And here is the Feather and Fan Icelandic shawl. I wore it today at work. Oh my, how warm and toasty I stayed!

On Tuesday I was
• able to sew a few logs onto the log cabin blocks for the Homespun Quilt
• quilted on the Winter Swap Quilt
• knitted a pair of mittens for charity
• made a cover for the calendar I carry with me; my 'Day Timer' if you will
• cooked up a roast in the Crock Pot
• watched a movie
• hung out with CarGuy

I hope your New Year is bright and cherry!

Craft

Craft. It's one of those things that is both a noun and a verb. As a noun, the dictionary defines it as an art, trade, or occupation requiring special skill, esp. manual skill. As a verb, it is to make or manufacture (an object, objects, product, etc.) with skill and careful attention to detail.

What do you see in the image? Lots of hand knit sox. What else do you see? Do you see the divider in the sock drawer? I made that out of a cardboard box. It is my version of this. Why would I want to get so OC about a sock drawer? Well, I found myself wearing the same socks over and over. Plus, I am continuing to knit them and frankly, I was running out of room! Also, the way I had to fold the sox caused the cuffs to stretch out and get really misshapen.

I remember seeing this segmenting technique on The Carol Duvall Show (the Queen of Crafts) in some funky crafty thing. I was brain-storming with myself. You know about brain-storming doncha? Where you make a list of any and all ideas no matter how crazy. The segmenting came up on the list and I applied it to my sock drawer.

How do you like my sox?

Holiday decorating

Well, I finally managed to get a tree up today. Granted it is only 3' and didn't take that long to put up. But as I mentioned before, trying to find a place for it was the hardest thing. CarGuy and I have a small house with a large workroom for me and a large garage for him.

As I was going through the bins to figure out what ornaments to put on this small tree I took some pictures of ones that I have made in the past.

This sheep was made from a McCall's pattern back in the 1980's. She is one of my favorite ornaments. I notice that one of her feet is chipped.

These angels were crocheted with knit-cro sheen around some clothes pegs. I still haven't starched the skirts, wings or halos. Only because I'm not quite certain how to hold the skirt etc in position while the starch dries. Any suggestions?

And here is a Christmas Bunny. This is my own pattern that I modeled after a cat that Auntie has in her apartment. I adore that little cat and tried to make one. But not having a fabric that looked kinda catish I though this guy resembled a rabbit so I redid the ears and tail. BTW, his tail is just a very large pompon. His feet actually extend in the back and with the tail in just the right position, he is able to stand on his own. The hat also has a pompom on the end of it. The cat does not have a hat (no cat in the hat here!) but because I glued the bunny together, the hat covers the glue.

Art Journal

I keep a journal that I sometimes refer to as an art or visual journal. I put all kinds of stuff in it. The detris of my day will land in it. I keep a food diary in it because I found out that if I don't keep track of what I eat I really gain weight fast! So the other night I felt that I really had to work in it and not just writing (I do that too). So here are a couple of pics of my pages to satisfy your curiosity.*sigh*