Tuesday, October 25, 2011

More goodies!

If you would like to see the etzy listing, just click on a picture.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Etsy fun!

My friend Tracy and I are starting to put a few things on ETSY.  Tracy is a talented potter and she's starting make a few pins and pots for sale.  I'll be putting up a few little oddments from time to time.

Just a few of our bits and bobs.

These are available on our ETSY.



These are coming soon!


Friday, October 21, 2011

My kitties have chosen their costumes.

Miss. Kitty is going to be a mandrake.

Madragora Sandycus

Susan is going with a more general potions theme.

P1100686

Oh dear, someone seems to have changed her mind.

P1100696


Silly Kitties.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Finally!!!!!

I finally, finally, FINALLY finished "The Hat!!!!"


The Hat with Miss Kitty.

This hat has been on the needles for decades!!! OK,... no, only about 5 months, but it feels like forever!!!!

K takes piano from a wonderful woman, Mrs. J. She not only plays piano, but also drums and I think something else, maybe trumpet, not sure. She is also a painter. I love Mrs. J, she can take a grumpy teenager and in 1 short hour, using only a piano, paints and paper, send home a cheerful kid. K loves her too.

Well, Mrs. J has seen some of the little things I make and wanted to make something of her own. She was a first time knitter and chose this pattern, Cable Newsboy Cap. Yes, she likes a challenge.

Unfortunately, she had a bit of trouble starting; she cast on and then twisted about 4 times before joining. She made it almost to the first cable before she realized something was very, very wrong.

When she showed it to me, I gently explained what had happened, and worse yet, what had to be done. She just just laughed and decided to give up the sticks and string. I offered to take it home, and get her back to the same point, without the twisting, and she regained her will to craft.

She did an amazing job from that point on. The first time I tried cables, it didn't go nearly as well. She made it all the way to the top and then she realized the pattern she had chosen switched to crochet. O.o

She didn't let it phase her. 30 years of teaching piano to small children prepared her to stay positive, think on her feet, and keep kleenex handy. So she just looked for a similar pattern, found Cabled Chapeau, with only knitting,  and went on.

Unfortunately, the patterns weren't perfectly compatible, and she got to a point where she just couldn't finish. So I said I'd finish it for her.

And then things got ugly. Turns out she is a very tight knitter, and I am a very loose knitter, so when I added the ribbing on the bottom, it was not pretty. It took me three attempts, but I finally got it to look right. I don't even want to talk about the brim. Nightmare!

In the end it worked out, and looks very nice, but what a process.


The Hat with Miss. Kitty and Susan.

As always, Kitty approved.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Guess who K wants to be for Halloween?

P1100786P1100793

I found them at Target.  They aren't patent leather, burgundy or >200$, but they are close enough for Halloween.  K was over the moon!

Until she put them on and realized she would not look even remotely tough teetering around with Mr. Man holding one arm and me holding the other.  She couldn't even stand let alone walk without us. And she figured the trip to the ER would be no fun at all, though at least this time she would probably get a boot, instead of a cast.

She wisely decided against the killer platform pumps.

We are now in the process of figuring out how to make an eye patch.  Polymer clay and wire to attach to her glasses.  Yeah, that'll do.