A Purrrrrrfect bookmark

Hello again!

I can finally share pics of the surprise I was working on. It's a kitty cat bookmark. One of the groups I belong to on Ravelry has this great random act of kindness (RAK) thread where people list 5 things they would enjoy and random people can send them to them no strings attached. One person had a list which included: Anything with cats on it, anything handmade, and unusual bookmarks. I decided to help her cross those 3 off her list in one cute lil project. I first tried to make a cat curled up sleeping. It ... ended up looking like a rat. Then I remembered this picture I'd seen months ago and used it as my inspiration. This is the result:

I forgot to take a final picture after I blocked it, but you can see the added paw details in this picture of it while it was blocking:

 

I'm happy with it, and the giftee (all the way in south Africa!!!) received it today so I can finally share.

On a sad semi-related note, Canada Post is raising their shipping costs yet again. All parcels to the USA are going up by 20%. They already have prices far far above those in the USA, and even above FedEx and UPS. If I had either of those depots anywhere near me I wouldn't use Canada Post anymore. As it is, I won't be shipping out Christmas cookies this year. It was $28 for a medium tin of cookies last year. I love sending fresh baked nummies to my extended family and friends in America...but no home baked goodies are worth THAT much, on top of the prices of mats to make them. I'm extremely sad about this as baking and singing carols are my favourite things about the holidays.

Until next time....
*huggles*

Phoeny KAL Done!

WHEEEEEEEEE!!!!
The month long mystery knit a long of one of Phoeny's designs is done! Take a look at this darling knitted sheep! It is her pattern "Shaun the Sheep".
It's not yet available for sale, but hopefully soon! It's such a great quick pattern. I think it likely took maybe 5 or 6 hours total knitting time plus some time for seaming if you knit flat. The longest part for me was the body which is moss stitch and which I'm terrible at...I don't know how I always get distracted and forget to swap stitches. My fault for usually watching tv/movies as I knit I suppose..But I paid attention for the WHOLE body and it turned out fabulous! I love it!  

This was such a great experience. I especially love seeing everyone's take on the same pattern. "He" was supposed to end wearing a scarf but when I tried this tiny shawl on him he just became the cutest lil grandma sheep. So I made a pair of glasses out of some hanging wire from the toolbox, added a cute sheep button as the shawl pin and voila!

Until next time, happy crafting and *huggles*

Snow in July!

Hello!
It has been SO hot and humid this summer. Hottest on record I do believe. So I thought I'd knit up a little friend to help cool things down.

What do you think? I just grabbed some needles and wool and went at it, so he was very simple to make other than using the boucle yarn. IGH! But he turned out so much cuter using it I think.Still debating if he needs a scarf or not.

I also finished the little cutie below on Friday, thanks to the inspired idea of one of my Ravelry group mates to designate Friday as 'finish Friday'. He'd been sitting on my desk without legs for a whole week. Poor fella.

I made him in an attempt to destash some horrible old scratchy acrylic. Bad idea on a detailed knit in the round piece (my fingers were red and sore for days). But he turned out cute and laughing and perfectly palm-sized so I suppose it was worth it. If you'd like to make your own smiling alligator you can find the free pattern here. My apologies for the blurry first photo. Silly shaking hands. *sighs*

Now I'm on to a new cute project but I can't share it quite yet as it's a surprise gift for someone.
Ooooh, but we have Thursday to look forward to! The final step in the mystery knit a long of one of Phoeny's magical designs. I can't wait to see it all put together. I shall post as soon as I get it assembled and pics taken.
Until then, happy crafting and *huggles* for all!

Awwwwww I have flowers!!!!!!!

WARNING: Non-craft related hijacking below

My boyfriend is the BESTEST boyfriend in the whole wide world. How do I know? Not only is he absolutely wonderful and perfect and allows me to drone on and on about my knitting and crafting obsessions....he sent me flowers for our first anniversary yesterday. They are so beautiful I just had to hijack my own blog to share and coo and swoon. :) I'd never had a boy buy me flowers before *ducks and blushes* but I have to say these are the most beautiful and most wonderful flowers EVER. Not only that, he had the forethought to think: Hey! It's in a basket. She could use that for knitting stuff! Yes, he's just that wonderful!














Oh! Oh! Oh! Not only did he get me flowers, he was extremely sneaky finding out what my favourite flowers were (carnations, ftr). A few days ago I was pouncing on etsy (randomly pops up 3 new shops) and had found this shop. The owner takes butterfly wings (after they have naturally passed) and laminates them to make the most stunning necklaces. So I was rambling on about that and my bf pondered (not even a real question!) as to whether that could be done with dried flowers too. I, thinking it a legitimate conversation, proceeded to ramble about drying flowers and how some could and others wouldn't cause they lose colour or would be too thick, etc etc etc....and he slips in there somehow (I'm still not sure how!) asking what my favourite flower was. Yep. That's my sneaky loveable rogue. *sighs happily* I am so incredibly lucky.
It has been a fabulous year and I look forward to many more. Thank you again my dear sweet love! 

Hmm....since I've already hijacked this thread, I may as well go ahead and share this adorable pic of my nephew who just turned 3 months old on the 7th. Looks like he loves teddies as much as his auntie. :)

Until next time!
*huggles*

Cloths, Cloths and more Cloths

Wow I've fallen behind. Lots of new things to share.

First, as a gift to the twin of the girl that received Snape, I made a little collection. To the right is the final product. Inside is a glass jar of pomegranate sugar body scrub, 2 washcloths and a face scrubbie, all made of the same yarn.
The cloth on the right is the same pattern as the white one I posted previously. The square one is a DW Cloth. I love how the carries look. I've posted pics of the face scrubbie in a prior post I think.

Edit: Woops, just looked and  I didn't show the scrubbie before, so here it is with the one I HAD made and posted before. :)

After these were all done and gifted, I started work on a new cloth that caught my fancy. It's called the Pi Cloth. (above right) There are so many ways to personalize this cloth, as you have 3 sections to do whatever pattern you chose. I rather like how it turned out. I still need to block it to hopefully get it to lay flat in the middle.






Finally, I've joined my first ever KAL (Knit Along)! It's so much fun! It is a mystery KAL which is even cooler. I have no idea what the end product is going to be. A new bit of the pattern is posted every week for 3 weeks. This one is a toy pattern by an amazing and inspiring pattern creator who goes by Phoeny on Ravelry.
Here is week 1. The head and body.
I'm currently working on week 2 which is arms/legs. So no, it is not a penguin (my first guess as I played with the pieces). Though I'm partial to penguins as they are my sweethearts favourite :)

So that is what I've been up to. How about you? 
Until next time, Happy Crafting!
*huggles*

Edit: sorry for the bad layout. Blogger is being a pain today. *sighs*

Professor Snape (First Doll Completed)

Hello!
Snape is finally done!

Here is the pic of him dressed in his shirt/pants. Unfortunately his legs/feet weren't long enough, or his pants were too long...either way, he doesn't get boots. Oops.
His shirt is a bit too short too. He apparently likes to show off his belly


Once he had his underclothes done it was time to make his robe. Then I took apart the plies of his hair and brushed it. It's rather neat, and looks like actual hair now. Of course I had to add a wand as well. Here's the finished product. I hope my friend likes it.

A towel, A cloth, & A wizard

I can't believe it has been so long since I last posted. Time is just flying lately.
I've completed a couple more knitted items, and am in progress on another for a birthday gift.
First, I finally finished the boring old hand towel for my mother. I actually like how it turned out, though next time I'll do a longer decrease on the top to the 'handle'.

Second, I tried out a new circular lace cloth pattern I found online. I meant it to be a washcloth to go with a birthday gift of homemade sugar body scrub. Then my mother saw the finished product. She has claimed it as a doily. Guess I'll be making another one soon.
It only took a few hours to complete in the car on a road trip to Rattlesnake Point.

Hint: If you're terrified of heights like me, this may not be the best place to go for a hike. The scenery was spectacular though and we even ran into a few chipmunks.

Project #3 is yet another gift for a friend who is absolutely nutty about Alan Rickman (aka Professor Snape from the Harry Potter movies). Now I've never knit a 'doll' before. Nor have I knit doll clothes. So he has been a labour of love...and lots of trial and error. The body is finally done now. What do you think? Did I get his nosey profile right? :)
I've also finished his shirt and pants. They're....pretty bad. lol. I haven't taken pics of them yet. I will get some shots to put up in my next post.  I'm working on attempt #2 of his wizard's robe now. We shall see how it turns out. 

Until next time, happy crafting and be safe!
*huggles*

50 Projects in 2010

Craftster has this great craftalong section of their forums. There are various challenges and project ideas, and if you want to participate you do so.
I just found this great challenge to do 50 craft projects in 2010. I think it's great and inspiring. In order to keep myself on track as much as possible (ha ha I know), and not just leap from project to project and never finish any....I have signed up. To help organize myself I'm going to post my list of projects here (the thread for this craftalong is already 366 pages long, that's a lot to dig thru to find my list.)
You do not have to list all 50 projects at once, and I don't believe you have to restrict yourself to the ones in your list (ie, you could swap one out for something else if you get inspired/hijacked into making something else). I haven't thought of 50 things yet...but I'm getting there! 
So without further ado, my 50 projects for 2010:

Knit Items:

1. Dragon! I have the idea in my head, just have to get the time and mats to make it.
2. Sharpei - as a gift for a friends bday.
3. Tiger - another gift
4. Manta Ray - to go with other underwater themed toys for my nephew
5. Chiuahua - or however you spell the tiny dog, for another gift.
6. Gnome Log or Mushroom House (doll house for boy...this may not get done this year. Planning for nephews 3rd birthday (he just turned 2 months old yesterday. lol.)
7. Gnomes/Fairies/Other magic critters for the house.
8. Moose - for mom (she's moose obsessed)
9. Snowman
10. Elf
11. Frogs - debating on poses. May make a couple different ones
12. Finger Puppets
13. Polar Bear
14. Fawn/Deer
15. Ferret
16. 'Monster' hand puppet
17.  Elephant
18. Mouse
19. Seahorse
20. Koala Bear
21. Itty bitty tiny panda bear
22. Sheep with removable fleece
23. Gecko
24. Baby Seal x2 (1 was a prototype before I made 2nd in good yarn)
25. Big Piggy
26. Ball
27. Knitted mobile for nephew (5 flying animals and vine/branches for them to hang from)
28. Baby Hat and Booties w/pompoms
29. Saartje Booties
30. Hand Towel for mom
31. Cotton face/dish scrubbie from frugal swap
32. Pi Dishcloth 
33. Set of a scrubbie and 2 cloths + homemade sugar scrub for a bday gift
34. First knit lace circular cloth (got stolen by mom so it didn't make it to #33's set)
35. Professor Snape - a gift for a friend's bday.

[u] Non-Knitting[/u]

1. Finish my nephew's underwater scene painting
2. Reuse a thrift store sweater to make a felted bag. (It's in my washing machine being felted right now!)
3. Make mittens or fingerless gloves from the same sweater. 
4. Stage for Finger Puppets
5. Scrapbook of nephews first 6 months at least. 
6. A case for my knitting needles! Sis has even promised to help me with her scary sewing machine.

Happy Birthday Puck!!

Yet another birthday today. There are a lot this month. Today is extra special though. It is my dear wonderful amazing man's birthday. Happy birthday sweetheart!

What's new in the knitting department? Well, my mother asked me to knit her a new hand towel for in the kitchen. The kind with a strap that attaches over the stove door handle with a single button. Her old one is getting quite ragged. So I was busy knitting the start of it, and asked her what sort of pattern she would like. Her response: "It doesn't matter, it is just a hand towel". ARGH! As if I want to waste my time knitting something that won't be appreciated. *sighs* So...I took some time off and made a couple fun new patterns while I thought up an appropriate retaliation.
First:
Inspired by the frugal swap post on craftster, I made a 'scrubbie'. They can be used for your face, in place of disposable cotton swaps/pads, or used on dishes. It knit pleasantly quick and is nice and plush. I'll definitely make more if I ever run out of ideas/projects for a few days.
I'm debating making a few sets of dishcloth, scrubbie and hand towel for Christmas gifts. Planning, Plotting, Pushing back fun toys to do plain old knitting.....hummm...

Second:
A cute little 'star' critter. The author calls them aliens. I can see using oval eyes and no mouth to create a star from the Mario games. They also remind me a bit of the little star kids from Rainbow Brite. Very quick and easy, they are delightfully tiny.

Until next time, I am back to work on the towel. Happy crafting everyone! *huggles* 

Birthday + Broke = Inspiration

First, #3 won. The person who inspired the making of a tiger liked that one best as well so ... here he is:

 So Monday was my friends birthday. Unfortunately I rarely leave the house here, and when I do it's usually only for an hour or two tops so it's very hard to shop for that perfect gift. Even if I could afford THE perfect gift. And for some people...that's just way out of my budget. Jo-anne is one such person. SO....I decided to try and put my feeble knitting skill to work and make her something special. She is a huge Sharpei lover. Here's a pic of her old dog. Such a cuddly ball of inspiration! Here's the result:




Ok, this was an in-progress shot. Only one leg attached and no tail yet. I forgot to take a closeup finished pic....because the lil guy wanted to go explore. Look below for his adventures.

Wandering about in the backyard and checking out some of the flowers.








He then climbed to the top of this balloon leaf plant. I know that's not the real name of it, but that's how I always refer to it. I loved making those balloons when I was a kid :D Actually....I still love making those balloons......

Finally...he made a friend out of one of my tree gnomes! That was a long climb for such a lil puppy.

I sure hope she likes him. *Cue nervous knitter anxiety*.