Experimenting....

Does this look like a heart? I feel it is good, would be better if I had pulled the center a bit more I think....don't know. What do you guys think?

Sorry for the delay in posting....

I didn't realize it had been so long. I've meant to post, and I've got tons of pictures to post....but just haven't done it yet.

Anyway, I'm off to WonderWool Wales this weekend, so I promise pictures of sheep and etc. I also hope to profile some of the traders I come across.

See ya next week!

PS...if you haven't seen Elastic Waist you have been missing some fun!

Weaving Workshop

So there it is....the start of a new skill. I should take a picture of the selvedge. I'm so proud of it! I finally can WEAVE! I've wanted to do this all my life. I bought the loom several months ago for really cheap at the guild. It is worth joining a guild for the cheap supplies you can get! Anyway, Mary Keer was kind enough to slip me into her course and I had the best time. Warping was ok, until you started threading the heddle. (I actually know what I'm talking about now!). But the weaving was great and Mary is so good and patient. She has been teaching for many years, and she is still so enthusiastic!

Thanks again Swap Pal!

Sorry, I tried to get this last night and the stupid camera died! Thanks so much for the wonderful gifts!

Crochet goodness

So this is what I've been up too! I bought these two japanese books from SaucyLouise. I love them! I picked up some tapestry yarn at a textile gallery they have in Llandiloes where my sis-in-law lives. The flowers are So much fun to make! I'm going to make the purse on the front of the book on the left. I can't get over how much I enjoy these Japanese magazines.

Easter

Thought I would post a few of the pictures from the Easter weekend we spent with my sister-in-law. The Welsh countryside is so beautiful that I had to throw in a few of them. (Sorry about the dates being wrong on the pictures, we have to reset it...again!)

In the distance you can almost make out one of many controversial wind farms. I think they are beautiful, and so eco-friendly! But a lot of people thin they are unsightly. The post shows two walks in the area. All walks are well marked and are usually called so and so way. A lot of times they are pilgrimages walks that were used for years for those who were going from church too church until they reached St. Davids in Pembrokeshire (well the ones in Wales do.)


We got very close to these guys. They were in with a ruined abbey that was razed by Henry the VIII. There are a lot of these ruins around, even in Much Wenlock where my hubby is from. This one is far away from Llandiloes where my sister-in-law lives, but they still managed to move the arches from this abbey and put them in the chapel they were building in Llandiloes. We went to church there for Easter Sunday and it was amazing! You could tell how much older the arches were. This church was made 100s of years ago, can't remember exactly when....sorry Dennis (my bro-in-law).
I took this pictures because it shows very well how they "lay" hedges here. In Wales and Shropshire they use laid hedges to keep the sheep in. They let the hedge trees grow up to about 5 feet or so. Then they, and you can tell in the picture, lay the trees on their sides. They weave posts in to keep the trees on their sides. Then the branches shoot up and become impenetrable. They say that you can tell how hold a hedge is by how many different plants are growing in them. A lot of times there are black berries in them, yum!
This is New Quay on the Welsh coast. It was such a nice little village, but packed with people on the day we were there...it was warm enough for the kids to be in the water....which I found so unusual. In fact you can tell in the pictures how clear it is. Wales gets lots of rain usually, but we didn't get a single drop while we were there! I was a bit dissapointed really...it is nice to have a day in by the fire with your crochet hook or book!

I was worried about getting good pictures of the sheep....and then we came across this paddock with the little guys dying to be petted....well they thought we might have food....but aren't they CUTE!!! I have to admit a weakness for the black lambs!

Thanks to my swap pals....

I received these the other day and it really made me happy! The first pictures is some lovely things from my secret pal. I couldn't wait to put my keys on the key change. The pink box has stickers in it and the box with the lamb and rabbit on it is a tin that I can put embroidery stuff in! Yeah!!!










This was a gift from Tora from the tote exhange. It is lovely, and I can't get over how well she did the roses. They are lovely. The bowl has some homemade stitch markers that a friend of hers made. It really is lovely.

Wednesday craft night

So this is what I had to hurdle to get into my craft room...left over mess from the bathroom remodeling. Oh well, I made it in and managed to ....









to kill a die cutter.... ruin three ears and finish one rabbit! I wanted to have so many more of the flowers. I thought it would look really neat, but unfortunately I broke the cutter. Oh well...it was going so well! Now I know why they buy already cut felt flowers! It just felt good to get in there!

New Zine

I purchased this from Elsie Sampson from Chinese Sweatshop. The yellow book with the thread and the blue behind are the drawing zines. They are wonderful. She draws and tells you stories about how she started drawing and what she likes to draw etc. The green book is a sketch book and she added the pencil, 2 crayons and other bits and pieces to draw on. It is wonderful and worth a look. She has other zines also at her webpage. I found her through Croq zine. Her zine is so original though. She cuts and pastes and handpaints color. It is a wonderful inspiration.

Toby's present.....

I love buying things off of Etsy.com for gifts if I don't have the time to make something myself. I sent this to my nephew Toby first birthday. Maya from Maidenlove made this lovely elephant. I was so impressed, because when I told her it was a present, she took this picture and sent it to me. It was so nice to see how it looked and made it really personal as a gift. She makes these elephants and blankets from fabrics she has collected over the years. She will even make things out of your own fabric if you send it to her. She is in my Etsy favorites for sure!

ATC for March

The them for this Creative Mom ATC was Space of ones own. I couldn't resist doing my favorite space. I didn't know how to do it quickly, so I just drew it. I've been working on my drawing anyway...so hopefully this will be alright for my swap person. Can you identify the objects in the pictures??? It is pretty well how my bed looks at the moment...or will when I go upstairs. I always think of Virgina Woolf's "A Room of One's Own" and think how important my bed is to me. I have always been a person who craves "me" time. My bedroom has been such a haven to me in the many bad and good times of my life.

This is the ATC I received from Kimberly for the Alphabet Soup exchange for February. I'm impressed how well she created the earth, without really drawing it. It is really cool. Thanks Kimberly.

Tote exchange.....

done with the tote for this exchange. It is a shopper, so I've not lined it. It should be useful to take into a shop when my pal has only a few things to pick up....like when they go to the drug store or something. Hopefully she will get good use out of it. I'll fill it with some goodies I've bought for her too.

Easter projects

So here is what I've been up too. I've actually...shock...horror...have been assembly lining! I've never done that before, I must admit I'm usually a one time project maker. With all the Secret pals and just plain friends I have, I thought I would make a few of these up. I'm going to embellish the heck out of them once they are sewn up. I got the pattern from a wonderful felter Betz White. One of these days I'm going to try my hand at making my own pattern. At the moment, it is easier to have a pattern and then embellish it with my own ideas. Some of this fabric is new, some I've had, and some was given to me.


Doesn't she look cute! This one will be getting some embroidery on it I think. Who are the lucky recipients? Well, we shall see.....

More books and magazines.....

This book is sooooo cool. I was drooling over it last time we went to Borders, but decided to not buy it at that moment....but of course a £10.00 off ticket was eating a hole in my wallet and I just had to get it. So off I went after work and picked it up. I have trouble with color. Not sure why. I suppose I just haven't thought about it, other then knowing what colors I like and what colors look good on people.

Anyway, this book is great. Gives lots of combinations for such categories as "Fresh" and "Alluring", so it should be good to help me with some of the projects I'm doing out of a few books for my journals.


This book was so good I couldn't pass it up. It has all kinds of logos in it. But it has such wonderful bright colors I was just so struck by it, I had to buy it! It even has an interactive companion CD with it. I'll have to see what that is like when I have more time....









I was looking through this mag, and was so stuck by all the lovely colors. As you can see this is an American mag (gotta love it).
















I was flipping through the pages and came across this page...I thought...HEY I know those dogs....and sure enough the house they are featuring is one of the bloggers I follow. I remembered then that she talked about being featured, but at the time thought "oh well...another magazine I can't get here....woe is me"....but I was WRONG. She is Alicia Paulson and her blog is so wonderful and full of great ideas...just like her house!











This is an Australian magazine I hadn't seen before. So I got it to have a go. It has some traditional crafts, but there is enough of a twist to it. I thought that I could use it to give me some ideas of embroidery that I could tweak.

Creative Mom Podcast ATC Feb exchange

Well, here is my ATC for the Feb exchange. The theme was "alphabet soup". I had this idea from the beginning of layering letters. I like the whole layering thing at the moment. I'm layering stitches, colors, etc on everything I've been doing (except the blankets of course). I think it turned out pretty good. About what I had in mind anyway. I started out with the works "Maybe No Yes" then just made sure I covered that up as I went. I hope my exchange partner likes it!

Valentines projects....

Here is the card I made Rich. I'm testing out my new scanner, so instead of taking a picture of it, I've scanned it. It will look a bit silly because of that.


Can you guess what I love? (The last is a book, since it is more difficult to check.) The last page had a mirror under the flap...which was really small so just showed his nose!

These are the cards I made my niece and nephews. I just wanted to send them a little something.

Secret pal 10

Well, the time is here again, another Secret Pal is starting. I enjoyed the last one very much. I had a secret pal from the States, and person to spoil was a wonderful girl from Estonia. I'm looking forward to meeting two new people!

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I must admit that I perfer natural fibers, though I have used blends and do like them.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
A wicker vase my Mom bought me for Christmas one year.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I've been knitting since I turned 30, though I've crocheted and crafted all my life. I'm an intermediate knitter...though I tend to through caution to the wind and try new stitches and stuff. My biggest problem is, I am mathematically challenged.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
I have an Amazon and I'm thinking about an Etsy. I just LOVE Etsy.com

5. What's your favorite scent?
Lavender

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
This time of year I miss peeps!

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I've recently learned how to spin. I've always made crafts, recently I've been trying very hard to start being more artistic with crafting. I'm doing a lot of work with art journaling and trying to do more Fiber arts.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I like alternative (or Indie) music.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I'm really in to bright colors. I think because this country is so drap and dreary (and everyone tends to wear black.)

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
Married, no kids. We have two guinea pigs, two rats and four mice.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
I don't do ponchos, but I love scarves etc.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
I like to make anything really.

13. What are you knitting right now?
Right at the moment I'm in the middle of two blankets and a bag.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
ABSOLUTELY

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
All of the above.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
I like to do this by hand, it is something I can do in the car without getting sick!

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
Very, Very old

18. What is your favorite holiday?
Thanksgiving...I'll be home for it this year!! Yeah!!!

19. Is there anything that you collect?
Craft supplies and books

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I've got several books on my wish list. I like One-skein wonders by Judith Durant. Subline Stitching by Jenny Hart is another one. Right at the moment I'm dying to have some more Luna Moon needles and Addi turbos. I would love any beautiful yarn. I like unusual colors and textures.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
Weaving

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
Yes, though I've yet to make me any that fit. I wear American size 10.

23. When is your birthday?
Nov 15

Book reviews....

Yes, more books....but this time I didn't buy them! I was smart and got them from a library. I should promote libraries more...seeing as I'm almost a Librarian and have worked in them most of my adult life. I wanted to check out these two book before I thought about purchasing them. I'm glad I did. They are great and were worth having a good look at...but they don't include anything different then the things I've seen on the net or have in books I already own. The "House Proud" book by Danielle Proud is great and if you are in to reusing furniture and household goods, then this book has some great ideas. The thing is I've been in to this for such a long time, that I've seen most of the techniques before. I must be getting really old! Cath Kidston book is really good too, but again...nothing really new.

Anyone interested in some books?

**I've still got the first two of these books....I managed to give the others away.......

I've decided to get rid of a few books I just don't use. If you would be interested let me know we could do a swap or something.





I just didn't find anything I wanted to do in the last three. They are very good, but just not me. The first one, was one of those that I have about three others that have the same projects!

What have I been up too?

Well, I've not been doing much crafting. I made some valentines for my niece and nephews the other night, I'll show pictures of them when I get them finished. But mostly I've been cleaning. I can't believe how missed up the house became while I've been unwell. I made attempts but I just didn't get organized like I needed to. So I've been trying to get the living room organized at the moment and reminding myself that I can only do it one room at a time!

The picture is the bookcase I've put next to my chair. It has all most of my craft books on it. I had a different bookcase, but it wasn't deep enough or high enough to allow for my bigger books. I've put the knit and crochet up on top so they are easy to get to, and the other craft books on the bottom. I have to move my chair to get to them...but I don't look at them quite as much. My sewing books stayed upstairs in my craft room.




So here is my collection of knitting and crochet books, see any of your favorites. Being a Library type person, you crave books. I'm getting rid of a couple that I've not used. If you look closely you will see that Debbie Bliss and Erica Knight predominate.

Yeah for Borders!

I know it is sad to be so excited about a big name bookstore. But I can now get my American magazines and drink Starbuck's, so I can't help being a bit excited!

So what did I buy? I got Mary Englibert's Home Companion magazine, which I've never seen before. It is really good. I was very surprised. I know of Mary and have seen her many books and art work. Her magazine isn't as country looking as I thought it might be. There is a lot of nice bright colors and art decorating. I really like it, and will buy more.

I have to admit to buying two books. I've not seen these before, and it is nice to actually sit with my hot chocolate having a good look through the books. I promised myself that I wouldn't buy too many books this year, but I have to admit that two books that have gone on my wishlist are the new Tracy Ullman and Mel Clark's "Knit 2 Together", which had 3 patterns I wanted to go home and start...and Erica Knight's new book "Essential Crochet", which has her characteristic home furnishings.

So what did I buy? The first book was one I had on my wishlist (I just figured out) "Fabric Leftovers" by D'Arcy-Jean Milne. This books is excellent. It has two things I have to try, the first is Lazy Crazy Patchwork. You just sew pieces in strips and do lots of cool embroidery. Then you use those pieces as fabric to make pillows etc. She also show you how to take cord and use the sewing machine to embroider over it. The effect is awesome and I can see it being used for so many different projects.

The second is a book I hadn't seen before, "New from Old" by Jayne Emerson. I've seen many of this type and after looking at the books thought they were good for insperation, but they really weren't in my style. This one is so different. She has split the book into: dying, embellishing, and actually reusing the item to make something different. She makes me wish I had a leather skirt to make into a bag, and her use of fabric flowers to embellish is really inspiring!

We will have to see how I get on with these. I've promised myself that I would make sure I actually use the books I buy....so this is a bit of a challenge! Must make valentines cards first though!

Arts and Crafts fun

Paige and I did some art work while I was home. She got a great Arts and Crafts box that had drawers like you would use for nuts and bolts and stuff. It was SOOOOO cool! I wanted it. She had a great time doing this. I did one too, but I left it and forgot to take a picture. Who could ask for a better Christmas then playing with a collage with your niece. She decided that mine looked like a turkey. I asked her what hers looked like, and typical three yr old....nothing it is a collage! Here she is playing with her doll. I'm glad I sewed those legs and arms on good and tight! I can tell ya, that doll will not have clothes on it, unless her mom puts them on her! She just wasn't that interested! I thought it was interesting that the dress she has on is very much like one I wanted to make her! So I guess I will go ahead and try!

Here I am....

after some technical difficulties and some more time spent trying to get things done...and not succeeding, I finally have the pictures and the time to do a quick post.

Sorry Emily, I had to go out of town this weekend and still haven't been able to do a few pictures to help you with the blanket. As with everyone, time is just flying away from me!

So a few updates about Christmas. I had such a good time playing with my niece and nephews. My knitting is always a magnet for their attentions. Robbie always wants to try his hand at it and asks me how long it will take for me to finish......never happy with my reply "when I finish". They decided to "help" me by taking all the balls of yarn and making one big huge ball with my needles in the middle of the mess. Don't they look like they are having fun??? I asked and they said they were! It took me two evenings to reball them up and get out my needles. The circulars were stuck in there somehow! Yes, that is a bent Addi Turbo.....I got it unbent enough that it still works, and is a little reminder of how much fun they had! Everyone asked me as I was untangling the mess if I regretted letting them. But I didn't...I mean they were playing with YARN! How cool is that!!!!

Emily....

this post is specifically for Emily who recently wrote a comment about the blanket I'm making from the "Nursery Knits" book. (See post from Nov 30). There is something you should know about this, but I can't get a reply to you personally. I hope you are checking back. I will post a tutorial tomorrow for you. Basically though you have to reverse the pattern for half the blocks. This really confused me the first time I did it and since there isn't a picture of what it looks like in the book (other then the whole blanket pic) it is hard to pick it out at first. The first block goes "///", the second block must go "\\\" so that it forms the "V" pattern. I decided to do that color pattern from right to left on the second block. Don't know if this is right or not but it works. I'll try to do that tutorial tomorrow, because I think it is hard sometimes to follow when you can't see what the person is talking about!

Other then that, I'm home. The vacation was good and I got to hold lots of babies and play with my niece and nephew lots! My sisters are all doing well, considering the babies they have all had this year! I even got my Mom knitting again. She wanted to make a bag like my sari silk one I made this year, so we picked out some Noro for her and she is going to town. She had it half done before I left! We have already booked going over in November to see everyone for my birthday and for Thanksgiving! So that makes it easier to come home.

I bought lots of craft stuff, got cool presents from Melissa and bought some cool books and mags. I promise to post them soon. I still haven't downloaded all my pictures etc to the main computer yet (Hubby has been busy playing with his new Web cam). But since we just got back on Sunday, you can't really blame me! I hope to catch up on everyones blogs and stuff soon! One of my New Year resolutions, was to post more. I really enjoy it and I don't get half the stuff posted that I want to, especially about Indie artists I buy stuff from!!!

Nephew number 5!

I'm a bad Aunt....nothing in this picture was hand done by me! But soon I will have that blanket done...He was born on the 22nd just as Rich and I were on the plane to come over. He is healthy and so is Mom, though they both had a rough journey. I get to spend a few days with them in the new year so I'm looking forward to that.

Rich and I were lucky. The fog that was cancelling a lot of the flights out of London, didn't stop us. We flew with Aer Lingus (Irish company) and their flights were taking off, though they were an hour late. We enjoyed the fact that you can go through immigration in Ireland, and don't have the hassle when you get to the States. Chicago was warmer then London....go figure! We are holding up pretty well, though I'm still feeling the effects of a head cold I had before I came over. One December I would like to go without a cold.

I'm busily trying to make this for my niece...last minute present. I also plan on working my way through The Creative License book by Danny Gregory, and using my new moleskine to do it. I'm using real artists pens, which are making a difference. I don't want to get to where I am a master drawer. I just want to be able to interpret what I see in my head or eyes on to the page for embroidery.

I did order the book The Art of Knitting and it is wonderful. I haven't had the time to really look at it, but since I had it sent to my Mom's I will hopefully have some time soon to get to it!

Off I go to spend time with the family!

Christmas part whatever.....

So this is what I've been up too. I've made my ATC (Artist Trading Cards) for the Creative Mom's Podcast swap. The heart is the wrong size, I thought it was postcard size but it was suppose to be 2 1/2 by 3 1/2. I like heart a lot. That is going to be my signature I've decided. The painted one is what Amy the Creative Mom sent me. I got it today, what a very nice thing for her to do. (That is how I figured out that I was doing it wrong.So here is outfit 2. It didn't work out anything like the pattern....and netting is H*!! to work with...but I got it done! She had to have a little ballet outfit!

And here is outfit 3. This worked up pretty well, and I like how it fits which I can't say for the other two outfits!

I've had a good day really. I've got my room put together so that I can actually find things. That is the best, not to have to search and search for the beads or buttons if I want to use them. I made the doll a pearl necklace too, which can used to put her hair up too. I've also started stocking up on supplies. I used to think that I only should have what I was using at the moment. But I've found that it is good to buy small quantities of different supplies so that I can play. Playing is what I'm going to do in 2007. I need to break free of the constraints of patterns I put on myself. I never felt that I was artistic, but I'm trying to expand. I bought a great book this weekend, my friend Sarah found it...fortunately she said she would order a copy so that I could have the one that we found. The Art of Embroidery: Inspirational Stitches, Textures and Surfaces (Paperback) It is by Francoise Tellier-Loumagne who is a French textile artist. The book is fabulous!!! The pictures are wonderful and she goes into just enough detail on different techniques that you can still do your own thing. It is wonderful. I've ordered her book The Art of Knitting by her also. I'll get that in the US, it was easier to have it sent there.

The only real problem is I need to get to doing my studying. I've got about a year left and am struggling because I feel that I want to be more creative. I want to work in my craft room, instead of my desk. But I just have to get it finished and then I can do what I want. That is what 2008 will be also.....study study study...then craft! We shall see how it goes!!!

But for now...back the Christmas crafting!

Update....

sorry no pics, but hubby and I have a new computer and he hasn't totally finished playing with it. I don't want to download anything new until he has finished...techies....they just love to play!

Wanted to catch you up though....I've been very busy working on the ATC's for the Creative Mom Podcast swap. And clothes for Paige's doll, a friend's present and the baby blanket. I'm a bit upset that I don't think I'll find time to make anything for my secret pal, but she has forgiven me already. She will get something before the end of the swap!

Well, since I'm typing on my knees...I'll stop posting and will give you all the pictures another day!