Pinky gets a sweater

Greetings dear readers,

Recently, I came across an organization that collects handmade dolls to give young children in need. With the exception of a few rules on size and style, the rest of the design is left up to the imagination, so I began experimenting and managed to sew and crochet a few. Then I decided to add a little sweater and after a few poor attempts at making all the separate pieces even and sewing them up, I opted for an all in one knitting  pattern. Pinky, my crocheted teddy, served as a model and here he is. A wonderfully, quick and easy pattern.

Feline feelings

Dear readers,

Occasionally, I will share some personal experiences that have left an impression on my life in some way. Yesterday was no exception. I've been battling an  uncomfortable ailment recently and the pain and discomfort I've been feeling has left me quite run down. Despite antibiotics, I simply haven't been recovering as quickly as I'd hoped and yesterday morning, my emotions got the best of me and I fell onto my bed and lamented my current state in a most pathetic 'damsel in distress' manner. You could probably picture the whole head cradled in the hands thing and the pitiful, woeful whimpering. Except is didn't involve waiting for some dreamy fairy tale prince to rescue me from a wicked stepmother.

A second later, I heard a tiny meow and the next thing I knew, Tiger had waltzed over to me, put his sweet little face on my knee and began to purr. I don't know if he sensed my anguish, but somehow, I think his instinct was to make me feel better. And for the moment, I truly forgot my troubles. I stroked him, spoke to him and he continued to purr lovingly. Tiger has never been what you'd call a warm cat. He's not a lap cat nor does he have a friendly personality, so this was most unexpected. He has mellowed somewhat as he's gotten older and since being diagnosed with feline diabetes a year and a half ago, he's become a little friendlier.  I give him insulin injections twice a day and his health has really improved. In the beginning, the little dear was so gravely ill and I struggled terribly to give him the shots, but I think once the insulin started taking effect and making him feel better, he began associating me and the shots with something positive. Although he's not quite a Cheshire cat, he's a lot nicer these days.

I guess the lesson for me here was to remember that when I'm in a difficult situation and feeling very alone, there is some spark of kindness around, where I least expect to find it.

So now I dutifully schedule appointments with doctor Tiger "Tabby" Levin.

The doctor will see you now. Uh...as soon as his catnap is over.

Meow over, darling!

Meow there readers,

Tiger looks none too thrilled with this little pillow buddy I made for a little girl. He's giving it 'the look.' Anyone care to caption this little gem? Hopefully, this will put a smile on someone's face today.

                                          This is one cool cat!

A little more weaving fun

Dear readers,

I feel like I've neglected this blog for way too long, as I've been focused on other things recently but at last, I present my little heart bag. I made these separate pieces a few weeks ago and finally put it all together. I can safely say that sewing them up is by far the most tedious part of the process for me and probably contributed a little to my procrastination. Thank goodness for those one piece patterns! So without further ado, here is my heart harlequin bag. Perfect for gals on the go who are handbag minimalists like yours truly. :-) 

 Reversing the colors made a nice contrast from the

herringbone bag I made earlier.

                           I used a plain tabby pattern for the back.

Ohh...yarn weaver...

Hi dear readers,

This is just a quick update on the little woven bag progress I finished last month. It's a harlequin bag from Miss Findlay's book that I've been having so much fun with. My friend has nicknamed it 'the toggle button bag'. I'm so proud of it. It's perfect for me to just throw in a compact, wallet, lipstick and my ancient cell phone. I think I may use the woven heart square to make another one for my friend. I find weaving so relaxing and thanks to this relatively inexpensive child's loom, I get hours of fun. I wish I could learn some more advanced tapestry techniques. I hear Martha Stewart has jumped on the knitting loom bandwagon (is there such a thing?) and has come out with her own set of looms. I'm going to have to plan a trip to JoAnn Fabrics to check them out! Another excuse to go to the craft stores, because visiting one is simply not enough! :-)

Weave under one, over one...

Dear readers,

I finally got a copy of Noreen Crone-Findlay's "The Woven Bag" book with projects for small looms. So I did a little experimenting with some of the patterns and had some fun with my little plastic loom. Here is the work in progress for the the herringbone/chevron pattern. Initially, it began as a twill pattern, but I changed it midway through and completed the traditional herringbone. I also experimented with the heart pattern, but as you can see, I made a few errors along the way and will have to give this one a second try. I was using some scrap yarn and ran out of purple, so I wasn't able to complete the last few rows, but now that I have the general idea, I will definitely be giving this one another try.

                                          The Herringbone Pattern

                                                         The Twill

                                       A first attempt at the woven heart

I then pulled out the large Butterfly Loom and found some old t-shirts. After cutting a bunch of strips from the bottoms of the shirts, I got this really great stretchy material. Finally, to finish it off with something a little different, I took apart an old video tape that I knew I wouldn't watch again and used the video tape to knot off the squares. I still need to find a cute closure and make a strap but I am pretty pleased with the result. It's actually very sturdy and holds it's shape very well. Please click the photos for a large view of the fabulous texture. This as you may know, dear readers, is quite a departure for me. Using nontraditional materials is not very common for me. I don't think "out of the box" too often or experiment, so this was a nice surprise. May you always be blessed with creative ideas and not be afraid to try something new!
                                               
                              Some t-shirt strips and the finished woven bag

                           The bag hold a nice shape due to the strong fabric

                                      I love the sturdy and unusual texture

Oh, and just for fun, a pair of earrings that were supposed to be tiny stars, but I decided to turn them into some cute ear jewelry!

Off to the polls

Well dear readers,

I recently completed my first assignment as a poll worker. A completely new experience for me and one that I greatly enjoyed. I really enjoyed getting to assist the voters and be apart of the election process. I look forward to serving the community once again in the future.