Bearly busy at all.

These are two enormous pictures of the lil brown bear that I recently needle felted. He took hardly any time at all and barely put up a fuss. I was, however, wounded during battle by my own weapon. I poked my thumb with the barbed felting needle whilst looking up to be nosey instead of focusing on the furry face I was fiddling with.

At any rate, I love the little booger and have yet to allow him into the care of my little girl. She is just turning two Friday and, well, she might not appreciate the fine craftswomanship that Mommy put into this furry friend. I am trying to find an excuse to carry him everywhere with me and say loudly to all who'll listen, "Look what I made!" I have yet to find a good one.

I am quite happy that I have begun to craft again as it has been a long while since my last completed project. The purses that I finished last week turned out well and if I could ever find a great way to photo them I'll post. I must sleep, my lovelies, finals are around the corner and this History isn't going to learn itself. Loves to all.

Green thumb

Today I played in the dirt. I planted azaleas and petunias. I potted my cilantro and peppermint plants for the kitchen. I have yet to crafticize anything more than a plain lap blanket that I am currently knitting. Just a 36 by 36 square with some yarn from the dollar bin with a cotton candy appearance. I love the softness and my little girl says its "sweetie-soft". She'll get it when its finished... as she does with everything I make.

Suddenly it is spring again...

Oh, my little knitting goodness. It is already spring. I have definately dropped the ball (of yarn) with this blog. I do solemnly swear to attempt to avoid this in the future.

I have been leapfrogging from project to project. I finished many, many goodies a month or so ago and have yet to craft anything new. I decided that the vest I began for the Hubs was a huge disaster. Last night, I pulled this entire thing apart and decided I would use the yarn elsewhere. I got the pattern from Domiknitrix and it lost me. Apparently, there are a couple of steps that aren't listed...or I just had no clue what I was doing. Either way, I've destroyed hours and hours of work. Well, lesson learned and knitting skills practiced. Let's stay positive, people, I just dumped about 17 inches of knitting in the round for a men's large vest. Four skeins!! Anyway, let's chitter-chatter about something happy.

I just got a massage. My friend Allison (Alice, to my 2 yr old daughter) brought her table over and got me all floppity. I felt like a drunken ragdoll when I slid off the table. Loveliness. Mmmmmm. She has a wonderful idea for a craft. Its one that I have yet to see around here. I shan't share it until I get the go-ahead. Its a doozy. Keep out an eye.

Family vacation this summer is planned for Savannah, GA. Very happy about that. We were going to NYC and Canada but, oh my, I am not up for that.

My health has been progressively worse in the past couple of months. Things seem to have rolled downhill after my February surgery. I have ideas, though and I hope to discuss them with Doc at my next appt. I have been researching alot and have armed myself with loads of info. I had to. At 30, I should not be lying down 90% of the time in great pain. That is why my darling friend came to visit with massage table in tow.

I promise pics of my newest crafter-pieces. In fact, I do solemnly swear...oh, you get the picture. Smile everybody. The paparazzi may be sneaking a peek and you don't want to be on the cover of Star with a frown. Also, put on some lipgloss.

Avast ye mateys, hoist ye yarn and make some knots.

Felt up...

I ordered some felting needles and some wool roving. I got just a bit so I could practice and see if I liked it before I spent alot. I LOVE IT!!! I'll post some new pics soon.

I have also found that a large mini M&Ms container from the gas station is the best container to hold your felting needles. I put a small piece of styrofoam in the bottom to protect the needle points. I am carrying 20 needles with no problems. So cheap, so easy, so happy I am.

What is next, my lovelies?

The big X-mas is around the corner. Its newly November and already the grocery stores and shopping malls are playing "Jingle Bells". Terrible ploy to start your pockets shaking. Well, Crafters, it doesn't have to be this way!!! They do serve a purpose by reminding us that we only have 44 days til Gift-apalooza. They remind us that Cousin Jimmy's sweater won't finish itself and Grandma Betty's afgan will be Grandma Betty's scarf if you don't get your needles moving!!

Come on troop, left, right, left, right, knit, purl, knit, purl...

By the way, I totally stole the sad little boy's image from the internet. I have no idea where, so don't give me credit (or take any for yourself, greedy booger).

Backpack Baby, oh yeah

I am so proud of this project. I made my little girl the characters, Backpack, the Map and a star, from Dora the Explorer. Dora (she says Dee-uh) is my 19 month old daughter's favorite show. I hope that she will love this cute little trio. I love to see her little face light up when she is excited. Christmas should be fun (if I can wait that long to give it to her).

I machine sewed most of the project with only a small amount of hand stitching. I used a standard stitch with no frills so this is, by far, an easy thing to create. Freehand drawing means no pattern, so one step is eliminated. The faces are painted on by hand with washable/dryer safe Tulip paints. (The kind of paint we made t-shirts with in middle school.) This entire project took about two evenings. It takes a while for the paint to dry and, well, I have a 19 month old who requires ...demands attention. Honestly, the cutting and sewing took only a couple of hours.

The bag is lined with pink flowered flannel. It makes the bag soft and ready for a bit of a beating. This was helpful when I ironed the bag (which should be done BEFORE painting on the face) to smooth out the folds. The star and the Map are both stuffed with basic fiberfill and hand stitched closed.

The best part about it is that the whole project is washable. The instructions call for a painted garment to be turned inside out for washing. I simply drop it in a pillow case (trusty old laundry saving friend) and tie it closed for a normal wash. Drying is up to you. Machine drying of a handicraft item is for the brave of heart. I find myself being the "lay it flat" type for something I put alot of time into. Give me a few years, though. With a few kids around, I'll be saying, "Who cares how it gets dried, they're lucky its clean!!"

Ready, ready, sweaty...

I am not afraid of commitment. I have gathered the courage to try my first sweater. I'll be attempting the Skully Sweater from Stitch n Bitch.

I have lost weight due to medication and dietary changes from this illness. I am in need of a few new wardrobe pieces, but I don't want to go shop. I'm not through losing weight yet. I plan to make the sweater for myself and make it a little too small for my current size. This way, it should fit by the time I finish it. Weightloss will inspire me to knit and the sweater's imminent completion will inspire me to drop some more weight.
Now, off to the yarn store....

Check out the website:
http://www.knithappens.com/