Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to Everyone

Christmas in Storybook Land

 We recently went to Storybook Land located in Cardiff, NJ.  I thought I'd share some of the pictures.   At Christmas time they have it all lit up and it's beautiful!

 This is the entrance of the park.

Here are  beautiful lights and trees decorated inside the park.

I thinks this was either a Merry-go-round or spinning teacups.

They had a lot of animatronics of all the fairy tales.  Here's Sleeping Beauty being awakened by her Prince.

 

Here's the white rabbit from Alice in

Wonderland

 

 

I went with my 3 grandsons and my daughter and her husband.  What fun!  The children even got to talk to Santa and Mrs. Claus

 

Custom Orders

One of the reasons I haven't been posting much I had several custom orders lately that I thought I would share with you.

One customer wanted me to remove the wings from my bat hat and add legs to make a spider hat.

One wanted an "Abe Lincoln" hat so I made it 2 inches taller.

 

  Another customer wanted a tie instead of a bowtie because their baby was going to be "Mr. Topham Hat"  from Thomas the Train.

   My Grandson was a Minion but when I made him this hat he told me: "That's not the right hair, Grammy.  I want to be Dave.  His hair is parted in the middle."  So I had to redo the hair. 

These suggestions from customers have given me several new ideas for items to sell in my Etsy shop.

Vintage Finds

I scored two great vintage finds this past week.  At the Thrift store in town where the inventory changes every week I found this:

A wicker dress form!! Isn't it fantastic?  When I bought it the woman who runs the store said her husband was going to be disappointed as he had bought some Halloween clothes to put on it.  Too bad!  It's mine now.

Then I went to a new (for me ) Thrift store in the next town,  on a little country road, and found this fabulous wicker desk and stool in great condition.  I put this in my craft room and I love it.  It also came with a big mirror surrounded by the same white wicker, but I haven't figured out where to put it yet.

 

Don't you just love it when you find great treasures?

Finished Shawl and My Improvised Blocking Mat and Wires

 

 

Finished Shawl and My Improvised Blocking Mat and Wires

 

 

 

 

I finished my Over the Moon Shawl from my Sock Yarn Shawl book.  It went from this:

 

to this:

 

Isn't it beautiful!?  I love it!  And I can't believe I made it.  There are a few mistakes but you can't see them.  The wool is so nice and It blocked out beautifully.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wasn't sure at first how I was going to block it as I don't have blocking wires or a blocking board.  So I improvised.  I went to Target to look in the toy aisle for the foam alphabet blocks that I'd heard some people used but I couldn't find any.  However , a few aisles over I discovered foam yoga mats that were 65" by 24".  Perfect size for my triangle shawl and the price was right; less than $20.00.

 

 

 

At home I had crafter's wire from my jewelry making supplies so I cut a piece 60" long.

I thread the wire thru the top of the shawl and pinned it to my yoga mat with t-pins.  The pins go easily into the mat and stay put.  Even better you can write on the mat with a pencil so I was able to mark the measurements for the shawl on it and stretch it out.

 

 

 

I pinned the shawl to the mat and the mat fit nicely on my craft table so I was able to leave it out to dry. 

 

 

 

 

 Fabulous!   When I was done the mat rolled up nicely to be stored away. And now my shawl looks great and I can't wait to wear it. 

 



Shawl Frenzy

Shawl Frenzy

  I started 6 shawls and have been working on them all at the same time.  Why start so many at once?

 It all started when I bought the book:   Sock Yarn Shawls by Jen Lucas.  I want to make almost every shawl in there!  The shawls are made with sock or fingering yarn which I had a lot of leftover from my sock frenzy.  So I go to the Knitting store to buy circular needles  and I end up buying a gorgeous ball of wool/silk in oranges and browns.  But it was a little too heavy for the shawls in the sock yarn book.  Then I go looking thru my craft room and I find the Traditional Knitted Lace Shawls book by Martha Waterman.  In it there is a fabulous and easy triangular garter stitch shawl pattern perfect for that wool/silk yarn. So I cast on.  That’s one.  

 

Then I look thru my stash and I find lots of lovely lace weight yarns I had bought several years ago but didn’t make anything.  So I take a pretty pale lilac wool and cast on For Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Pi shawl found in Knitting Around.    I like this one because there’s no thinking, just knitting round and round with the increase rows spaced out geometrically.  Perfect for long car drives.  That’s two.

Back to the Sock Yarn Shawls:  I found a website that has wonderful sock and fingering yarns called CandySkein  .  Beautiful  dyed wools and wool /silk blends with yummy names like Grape Soda and Bananas Foster.  So I buy the Bananas Foster ( shades of yellow wool and nylon with a little brown)  and cast on  for the Over the Moon Shawl.  So pretty and  an allover patterned lace.  I work on this one when I can sit and concentrate and mark off each of the rows as I go.   That’s three.

 

 I also bought the Grape Soda yarn which  is wool and silk in a wonderful shiny pale purple.  I cast on  for the Ardor shawl in the sock yarn book which is garter stitch body and a lace edge, but now I’m thinking to change to the Ladybug shawl instead in the same book because it’s stockinette body with a lace edging and I thing the stockinette better shows off the yarn..  That’s four.

 

Then I signed up for a class at Craftsy called Shawlscapes with Stephen West.  And I’m making the Boneyard shawl which will be a thicker warmer shawl knit of some lovely wool with just 10% silk in it in Double Knitting weight.  This is another easy shawl , great for car knitting.  Since we’re driving two hours tomorrow to Rehobeth Beach , it will be perfect to work on.  That’s five.

 

Finally,  I started a crochet shawl in a fingering weight grey wool with pale pink in it.  The pattern can be found on Ravelry and it’s called Elise Shawl.  That’s six.

 

 

I like to have several going at once so I can explore different techniques and compare them.  I really like how quick the Elise shawl works up so I may make one for each of my daughters for Christmas.  Or maybe I’ll make them each  aBoneyard shawl cause that one works up fast too. 

That’s what I’ve been up to in July.  How about you?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amigurumi Class

Amigurumi Class

 

Last week I took a class on Craftsy  by Stacey Trock of  Fresh Stitches called “Design your own Monster".  It was all about designing crochet amigurumi.  It was an excellent class and I highly recommend it.

The class is $20.00 and worth every penny.

She teaches you how to make various pieces of monsters and how to put them together.  She takes you through different types of monsters to crochet and in each lesson you learn several new techniques.  You also learn how to take a drawing and turn it into a cute stuffed amigurmi..

I’ve always wanted to make stuffed toys but for some reason I though they were very complicated to design and make.  No More!  After this class I designed this cute little cloud amigurumi (I’ll be offering a pattern soon). 

I also designed a Humpty Dumpty.  I had knit one several years ago for my first grandson, but it took forever and I wished there was a crochet version.  After this class I was able to design the crochet version I had always wanted. 

This cute little fellow was one of the monsters you could make in the class. 

 

 

 

I also made this bat for my daughter who likes bats. ( I actually purchased the bat pattern thru Stacey as I wanted to learn how to make wings and that was the one thing not taught in the class.)

 

If you’ve never taken a class by Craftsy, you should check them out.  They are reasonably priced and they offer sales and discounts all the time.  The classes are available forever and you can watch the videos over and over.  Plus you can interact with other people in the class if you’re so inclined.

That’s what I learned this week. How about you?

 

 

My new Grandson

My New Grandson

 

 




Jacob Benjamin
6lbs 2 oz  of adorableness.
Modeling some of Grammy's hats

Uniquity

Uniquity

 

“The Declaration of You will be published by North Light Craft Books this summer, with readers getting all the permission they’ve craved to step passionately into their lives, discover how they and their gifts are unique and uncover what they are meant to do! This post is part of The Declaration of You’s Blog Lovin’ Tour, which I’m thrilled to participate in alongside over 100 other creative bloggers.

This week is about uniqueness

What makes me unique? 

Owls and Fourth of July

Owls and Fourth of July

 

I finished my owl cushion and a little owl plushie. I really enjoyed making these.  I love the colors and the pattern which is by Ater crochet.  I just love the way she increases the circle.  They work up so fast because you want to see what the next color and row will look like.

 

Then I finished my red, white and blue mandala.  This pattern is by Wink of a Creative Being  I used it for a centerpiece for Memorial day.  And it will be good for Fourth of July too.  This was also a fun pattern.

 

 

So that’s what I’ve been up to.  Now I’m eagerly awaiting the birth of my third grandson any day.  I actually haven’t been able to do much crocheting because I’m so distracted by the waiting.

Mandalas

This week I’ve been working on mandalas.   I’m still studying colors.  I even bought a color wheel from AC Moore.  It was for painters but I found it helps with yarn too.

 
I found this fabulous website called ,A Creative Being, and she crochets a mandala a week.   It’s a fantastic study in color.  There’s a free pattern on the site for her basic  mandala.  I also bought her pattern for the  “I love Holland crochet Mandala.”  This pattern can be found on Ravelry.

 

This is one of the ones I made.  It’s so simple to do but so pretty.  I made another one in red, white and blue.  And I started a third one with red and yellow tulips  I made them in Sugar n Cream 100% cotton yarn.  I think they make pretty hot pads.  Or maybe placemats.

 

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Happy Mother's Day!

 

 

 

Happy Mother's Day

 

 

 

To all Mommys out there, have a wonderful Mother's day. 

 One of my daughter's is taking me to  see The Sound of Music at a local theater.  Should be fun, I've never seen it performed live.

I don't know what my other kids are planning.  A little gift, perhaps. 

I honor of Mother's Day I'm offering a coupon good at my Etsy shop  for $2.00 off any item until May 31, 2013.  Just enter coupon code:  Mommy .

Enjoy!

 



Coloring My World

Coloring My World

 

So this week I’ve been playing with color.  I finally got my box of cotton yarn from Germany.  It’s Catania from Schachenmayr.  I love it.  The colors are so pretty and it’s wonderful to work with.

 

I made this birdie.  I really enjoyed this pattern and I plan on making and selling these birds for decorations  in my Etsy shop.  After I took his picture I found better beads to use for the eyes and feet.  This pattern is by Atercrochet.

 

So is this one.  I love this pincushion ring!  It was fun and quick to do.  I want to make a bunch of these to sell also.  Tho maybe just at craft fairs.

 

 

 

 

 

I got the idea for the colors for my latest diaper cover and hat from a truck that drove past me while I was driving home from work and stuck in traffic.  It was a big blue truck and it had a large orange sphere on it.  It said Blue Moon on the side of the truck and I just thought it was so pretty. I came home and crocheted up a diaper set for baby girls.

 Where do you get your inspiration for projects?

 

 

 

 

Z is for Zentangle

 

 

Z is for Zentangle

 

 

 

Zentangle is an art form that uses structured patterns to create beautiful images.  It's a form of doodling which is made up of  simple patterns.  I just discovered it recently and I really enjoy the simplicity of it.  I especially like the booklet "Zentangle 8" because it was about using it for monograms and alphabets. 

 

 

 

I thought it would be fun to make a monogram to hang on the wall.  You need a wooden letter, available at craft stores and a black sharpie.  I chose several zentangle patterns out of the two zentangle books  I decorated the letter E for my daughter's room.  It was my first attempt , but I think it came out ok.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you do this craft, provide a link in the comments so I can come see.   This would make a great Mother's Day gift. 

 The photos are for the same item which is a white letter with black designs.  But in the one photo the light reflected so I added another photo with different exposure so you could see the design.



Y is for Yarn

Y is for Yarn

 

 

Originally this post was supposed to be about Yarn protesting.  But because of recent national events  I've decided to postpone that post and just talk about yarn.

I love yarn, all kinds.  I'm eagerly awaiting a box of yarn I ordered off the internet.  Where I live, we don't seem to get much cotton yarn except for dish rag cotton and we don't get much fingering weight yarn.  It's mostly worsted weight.  So I ordered some fingering weight cotton yarn off the internet.  I was hoping to share a picture of it with you but alas, it hasn't arrived.  I think I ordered 8 balls in different colors, so I can't wait for it to arrive.

X is for eXcited

X is for eXcited

 

Yes, I’m cheating with X.  But,  I am very excited.  I found another crochet stitch pattern book, called 99 Post Stitches and in it they had the Brick stitch I was looking for.  As you can see it looks a lot more like bricks than the other crochet stitch I was using, plus it’s super easy to do.  So now I’m full steam ahead on the item I was making which I’ll share when I’m done.

W is for Wrap Bracelet

W is for Wrap Bracelet

 

I’ve been very into wrap bracelets lately; you get the look of multiple bracelets with only one.

I’ve made a few this week.  The first one I used 20 lb hemp and tho I like the look of it, it’s a pain to string the beads and crochet with.

 

 

So I made another using my new favorite size 3 cotton thread.  Ahh!  Much easier. 

 

I found these little cross beads so I used it as my focus but of course you can use any bead for a focus, or you don’t even need a focus, all the beads can be the same.

 

First string 40 e-beads onto thread, then the cross bead, then 40 more e-beads.  Thread a two  hole button (or a shank button works too) onto the thread and tie a double knot.  Now using a size D crochet hook make a loop next to the button and chain 3, * slip a bead next to the hook and chain 2.  Repeat from *  having one plain chain and one chain with a bead in it until you’ve chained up all your beads.  Then chain 8 and slipstitch in 8th chain from hook .  This is your loop for the button.  Weave in your ends.

 Now wrap it around your wrist about 5 times and voila!