For Olivia!

Our good friends Beth & Jim are due in 4 weeks!

Beth's shower was yesterday and these were part of her present:

Mossy Jacket (modified to make newborn sized)

Seed Stitch Baby Jacket

I winged it for the matching hat pattern. Beth choose the patterns from a stack I gave her, and the colors, for the most part... the Mossy Jacket was supposed to be green & orange, but the orange just wasn't working with the green I had started with. The bunny buttons are all me- I hope they don't mind! They're very minimalist in style and are going pretty unisex for baby stuff... an idea I love, but unfortunately bunnies + pink = irresistable for me.

Fair Trade.

I commissioned this painting:

by Doug & Kathryn's lovely daughter Hailee.

I loooooove foxes, and the painting!

We traded for a custom Totoro hat… she wanted one like this one, but the knitter had unfortunately not taken any notes or anything, so I had to try to figure it out.

I think it turned out pretty well…

These pics of Hailee (& Trixie!) were taken by Doug.

This the most complicated colorwork I’ve done,

mostly because I’m not usually a fan.

But I am a fan of Totoro! And Hailee! So there you go...

It was meant to be.

Lovely gift from Kathryn & Doug:

I knew she had to come to me someday... Or maybe K&D just read the title of this post...

Old School

I made this a few years ago for a class.

It’s a wire armature with handmade felt and needle felted roving for covering.

It’s about 2 1/2 feet tall and has a hollow cavity in the stomach area.

It was inspired by the Venus of Willendorf.

White Pumpkins

More for Halloweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee'en!

Knit with Patons Classic Merino. Pattern here.

I had some major problems with the pattern... for the life of me, I have no idea why I had to knit all of the seperate sections of the pumpkin (and then seam them!) when the pumpkin shaping is made entirely in the felting process. Bah.

It’s a very cute pattern, though… just go ahead and knit it in the round!

Mods: I altered the smaller pumpkin to make it even smaller & altered the stem piece on the larger one to make it bigger. I added a leaf to the top of the larger pumpkin.

Beverly's Pincushion Contest

I won!

For this:

Thanks Beverly's!

Lil' Brown Bat

For Halloweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee'en!

Pattern here. Knit in Patons Classic Merino & Cascade 220.

I’m making some pumpkins from a different pattern to go with him…

He’ll go into my woodland pals display when he’s not

Hallowe’en decor!

Labyrinth Lux Scarf

This has been my carry-along purse project for a loooong time, but it's finally done...I call it the Labyrinth Lux Scarf because this Noro Aurora colorway has always reminded me of the set design in the movie Labyrinth... it is mostly shades of brown, shot with other color highlights, all wrapped with an iridescent thread that makes it appear slightly glittery (almost in a snail trail sort of way).

The solid brown stripes are Louisa Harding Grace, another favorite yarn of mine- it's 50/50 wool and silk with a gorgeous sheen, drape and feel.

Winter Hare

My version of the genius Hansigurumi's latest pattern, the Jackalope:

I just left off the antlers to make it a hare...

She's part of my growing woodland display!

Muuuuuushrooms!

I knitted some.

Free pattern here.

Blood Drive Thanks.

The Blood Drive was a huge success! Thanks to everyone who gave, and to Richie's Aunt Judi for setting everything up. If you couldn't make it, you can now donate in Richie's honor with his

Bloodsource Donor Club number: P869.

Richie & Tiffany's Wedding Day

Chris and his Smarty Pants.

Chris starts his classes at Mills College today!

Yes, they have co-ed graduate students.

He's studying art (emphasis in Photography) and

is a genius, if I do say so myself.

Wish him luck!

New Sewing...

Oddly, I did not have a pincushion, soooo...

A strawberry pincushion...

I made it with vintage and new velvet, and wool felt.

The pink baby strawberry is filled with emery, for sharpening needles.

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And the Bag to end all Bags (Hopefully.)

It's the Birdie Sling pattern from Amy Butler,

with Amy Butler fabric for the main panels.

I added an additional panel with pockets to the inside to divide it,

which turned out to be much more difficult than it sounds...

lesson learned, I suppose.

I love it- I can fit all the usual junk,

plus knitting and reading material!

It's a little ridiculous trying to find my keys in it, though.

Blood Drive for Richie!

My brother Richie needs a kidney...
but if you can't give him one of those, how about some blood?

United For Richie Blood Drive
Sacramento Airport: Terminal B
The Bloodmobile will be in the hourly parking lot across the street
from United Airlines, on Aug 27th from 8:30am-12:30pm.
Please make an appointment if you can,
but walk-ins are heartily welcome, of course!
http://bloodsource.org/
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Richie is truely one of the sweetest people I've ever met, and I'm not even being biased when I say that. We are all trying our hardest to get him a kidney, but until then, dialysis and alternative medicine are keeping him very well. He has received some blood transfusions, though, so we would love to give back... join us if you can!

Richie with our dad.

Barn Owl!

Yup, I made a Barn Owl.

It's another Hansigurumi!

It's the Horned Owl pattern, without the horns.

'Cause it's a Barn Owl.

I love all things tiny.

So awhile back I saw the most adorable miniatures on wee wonderfuls from a company called Re-Ment. After drooling for awhile, I ordered a few sets on Ebay and began hoarding an all new obsession...

I made this set it's own little shadow box because,

yes, I really am that nerdy.

Last of the Sea Creatures (for a while)...

Here's my latest Hansigurumi:

A Hermit Crab! I love him.

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He'll be the last Sea Creature for awhile...

I'm moving onto Woodland Creatures next!

Here they are in their natural environment- my bathroom.

They each have their own scientific label with info such as:

Dumbo Octopus: Genus Grimpoteuthis,

Species Octopoda, Benthic 300-400 meters

or

The Loch Ness Monster (Nessiteras rhombopteryx).

Knit Picks Samplers

So Knit Picks has these sweet little sample packs of their cotton yarns that come with six assorted balls and four or five (one ball) patterns to use them for... perfect for summer knitting.

I got the Renaissance Sampler:

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And my first knit from it is the Twig Lace Cap:

It's knit in Comfy (75% Pima Cotton, 25% Acrylic, in Blackberry),

which is lovely- very soft and lightweight.

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I really have been slacking on the knitting since learning to sew recently. I promise to get back on the wagon, though... my fingers are lonely for yarn.

More Gifties

For Doug's Birthday:

Pattern from Animal Mascots

(ISBN-10: 4391624206, ISBN-13: 978-4391624205)

On Crafting Japanese

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For Rhiannon's (FIRST!) Birthday:

My own pattern!

Because she's a cowgirl.

See?

Laika's a Betsy!

So, we got Laika a DNA test... yes, we are that geeky. We got it here, and after some hullabaloo involving a false poodle identification, we found out that Laika is a Border Collie! A Level 1 (more than 75%) Border Collie and Level 4 (10-19%) Weimaranar, to be precise... Anyway, that was very exciting because I'm a big fan of the breed after reading about Betsy in National Geographic:

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...a border collie named Rico appeared on a German TV game show in 2001. Rico knew the names of some 200 toys and acquired the names of new ones with ease. ...To find more examples, the scientists read all the letters from hundreds of people claiming that their dogs had Rico's talent. In fact, only two—both border collies—had comparable skills. One of them—the researchers call her Betsy—has a vocabulary of more than 300 words. Name: "Betsy"

Species: Border Collie

Home: Vienna, Austria

Smarts: Retains an ever growing vocabulary that rivals a toddlers.
How much thought goes on behind those eyes? A lot, in this case. Six-year-old "Betsy" can put names to objects faster than a great ape, and her vocabulary is at 340 words and counting. Her smarts showed up early: At ten weeks she would sit on command and was soon picking up on names of items and rushing to retrieve them—ball, rope, paper, box, keys, and dozens more. She now knows at least 15 people by name, and in scientific tests she's proved skilled at linking photographs with the objects they represent. Says her owner, "She's a dog in a human [pack]. We're learning her language, and she's learning ours."

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Read the whole article here. It's not just about dogs, and the whole thing is fascinating.

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We had thought Laika was an Australian Shepard (that's what they suggested at the SPCA) mixed with some sort of racing breed, since she's so slim and fast. Fast like she gives the Whippet at the dog park a run for his $. The surgeon that set her broken leg thought so too... Plus, she's less that 35 pounds, so we figured something small, but I suppose it's always a crapshoot when you try to guess. Anyway, we didn't really care what she was, we were just curious... we'd love her if she was a poodle, too.