I just made some amazing Etsy purchases for gifts for Christmas. I cannot show them here as they are for people who read this blog. But I found these great cards along the way at English Cookies.
The Crafty Hedgehog makes these! Words cannot describe the enjoyment they give me. I can smell the formaldehyde just looking at them. She also sells the patterns so one could knit them oneself! I think the tail on the rat is particularly wonderful. We have a lovely white/tan rat and a brown/black rat as pets. I call the white one Pancake but I don't think that is her name. My daughter got two rats a year ago when her snake died and she found out she is alergic. I take care of them now in my basement studio. I call them Panckae a Lulu for an Etsy yarn shop that I love. But I think my daughter namend them Peanut and Lulu. I really only talk to Lulu, she is more friendly than the white one.
I am swamped with custom orders for fingerless gloves, but I insist on knitting my own new designs for my own sanity. Showing my own color combinations also helps get me more custom orders because not everyone can picture how colors will work together or think to choose unusual colors like caramel or periwinkle. The best part about knitting for me is trying a group of colors and seeing what happens as the piece builds. It is the same for painting I guess... but knitting is just so much easier. I made this pair pictured above over the weekend and I really like them. I got a custom order to make them in purple shades which will be fun as I love purples. I want to take the embroidery further - it isn't easy to get much detail in such a small space, but I am looking forward to trying other designs. I honestly can't believe I still look forward to those evening hours when I can knit, you would think I would get burned out. I had better knock on wood right now.
I had a very productive weekend! I actually completed two panels of curtains and the thing pictured, which is a cover on a vertical display for craft shows. I thought it would look fabulous, I found this pretty soft green linen with a hint of a stipe and I made my own piping from some sorto of herring bone suiting - but it ended up looking boring. But it will work fine and I am not making a another one. I had just hoped it would lok soooo amazing it would draw shoppers to my stuff. I also sewed a lovely pillow using the left over piping and almost completed the purse to use at craft shows (using the left over herring bone suiting). I did not knit for 48 hours straight (from 6:30 Friday night to 6:30 Sunday night), but I was still able to finish up three pairs of gloves to post this week to Etsy (my Wednesday, Thursday Friday pairs).
I am definetly going to be sewing this weekend. I finally have the gorgeous Anna Marie Horner fabric for the family room curtains and I will complete the curtains this weekend. The fabric pictured is hand screened by Sommersville. I think I will order two pieces (it comes only as 9.5 x 14 inches) of the teal pictured above for the family room as well - I may make a pillow for a small bench I have in there. I love the teal but I think red will match best. I also want to make a small change purse to carry around when I am selling at craft shows. I have a few small over the shoulder purses but I the money gets all mixed up and I want to make a purse that has sections for checks, $20s etc.
“There’s new energy to harness, new jobs to be created, new schools to build, and threats to meet, alliances to repair...It can’t happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice. So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.
Yes, we can!"
