A planned day vs. reality. Reality won.

I am happy to have a day off, slept in a little bit, had a shower and put on clean jammies.  I was already thinking what I was going to make today, but I wanted to try out my new photo box that DD got me for my birthday...got that set up, battery dead in the camera.

Alright, I am not at work, it is a beautiful day here.  We had a storm this morning that was nice to listen to.  My battery will be charged in a minute, I'll just go cut out a pig or something.  Went into my sewing room to do just that, but I had gotten a couple of props out for the photo shoot...I've been thinking about putting a little something with my Critters, but wasn't finding what I was looking for.  The thought popped in my head that I, myself, do actually own a good amount of what we call "Little Guys"  Like for example, a little hand carved Giraffe...anyway, these are stored away in a dresser, different drawers, There area absolutely no clothes in that dresser, it is full of a bunch of stuff I've gathered over the years.

An hour later, I have a basket of Little Guys, but no felt has been cut as of yet.

I'll go try now.  Wish me luck!

3:12, back from the grocery store.  Better to go get the supplies for the Pro Shop today instead of in the morning.  Had to change into real clothes, put on a bra...but I made it.  Got my jammies back on, having a cold beverage...gotta check and make sure I haven't missed anything on facebook, right?

I re-listed a bunch of Critters yesterday, Getting ready to do some more, battery is charged, but my get up and get at it is a little in need of a rest for a few.

A thought entered my head, re which Critter to make.  I have the felt in front of me, and the pattern.  All I needs is a little Netflix in the background.

Show you what I came up with next time, until then, go take a look at the other Critters, yeah?

Play Nice!  xxoo

Another New Beginning!

My daughter's little family made it to Germany safely, they've lived in 3 hotel rooms in a month, finally today their household goods arrived!  They have rented a super cute place, 4 bedrooms, sheep next door, it's life in Germany for them!

I wouldn't dare lie and say that I don't miss the pitter patter of Delightful Delilah's feet when she'd come in to wake me up in the mornings.  I miss that, I miss convos with my Darling Danielle, but soon we'll be skyping and all will be well.  I miss hearing their voices.

Little Miss D fell and had to have five stitches underneath her chin.  Makes a grandma's heart ache being so far away!

We still have their pets, they should be sending for them shortly.

 

That's Margot, Ben's cat (my dog, Karma)

Otis (the big one), Karma, and Rilo

So, about the new beginning.  It's a new/old group on FB.  A bunch of us crafty type folks are reconnecting and it's awesome.  It's called Handmade Creations.  HMC for short.  If you are crafty person, if you've been thinking about opening up an Etsy shop, or just want some honest feedback on what you make, we're a pretty nice buncha folks, if I do say so myself, come join us.

I had the idea a bit ago to try making some of my Critters from muslin.  Actually, they turned out pretty darn cool.  A flying pig is flying in a bar/grill here in town.  Let's see if I can find a couple pics.

This was a WIP pic, that's the Lazy Horsey, done in Muslin, with a cream colored mane.  

That is a squirrel, in case you couldn't tell.

This is a squirrel, done in embossed felt.

This is the Lazy Horsey, completed.

So, I've been somewhat creative, still kinda floundering to find my new "normal."  I have an order to make a Dragon for a sweet young boy that will finally talk with me, after a year of being shy...and a puppy and a kitty for one of my golfer girl's granddaughter.  

I got my hair cut super short, like just about crew cut short.  I like it but I don't think anyone else does.  I don't like having to fuss with my hair and I don't like when the wind blows my hair.  Wanna see how short?  Do ya?  I know you do...

It's grown out a bit by now.  This was taken same day.  

Yeah, that's me.  

There is a lot of mean stuff going on out in this world, do your best to not be a part of that.  In other words:  

Play Nice!  xxoo

Trying Something...

The other day an idea popped into my head, like they do now and then.  I've been making my Critters out of felt, my idea was to create a line of Critters made from Muslin Fabric.  I love the natural look of Muslin.  I still wanted to hand-stitch them, too.

I had the idea on a Tuesday, had to work my 2nd job on Wednesday, and finish a sold felt Critter on Thursday, then spent the evening with D, so I didn't get to start on this idea until Friday evening.  I traced out the pattern pieces, and began cutting them out.

As I starteed cutting, I thought, "these should have some seam allowance."  I don't use those on the felt, but soon figured out that they would be needed with the thinner material.

The front...you can see where the seam burst there on the front leg...need that seam allowance.

See how the back leg is shorter?  Seam allowance would fix this, I think, and this wing I didn't stuff, 

wanted to see how "natural" would look...I wasn't happy with this flatness, same goes for the ears.

Back end look, poor little gimpy thing.

Here is the "good" side.  This side I cut out with a bit of allowance for the seam, 

and stuffed the wing a little bit.  

I was glad to have tried this, and really learned a lot.  I'll use batting in the ears and wings next time, for a less "stuffed" look.  The seam allowance is really so important.  

So, what do you think of the stitching on the outside look of this?  What do you think of the monochromatic look?  I'm curious to see how it would look with a contrasting thread color.  

For now, I'm going to cut out another one, with a small seam allowance on all the pieces, I may do some colorful stitches on this one, just to see how it looks.  

Part of the creative process is in the feedback, so if you have any suggestions, please feel free to share!  

xxoo

Cindy

Yes, Yes, I know.

It has been awhile.  My summer has been jam packed full of fun, adventure, some sadness, of course, there's always that to balance things out.

Having my girls here with me has been the absolutely perfect thing for me at the perfect time.  I have developed a strong bond with my g-daughter, and strengthened the bond that my daughter and I have.  She's an awesome mother, and I've learned so much from her.  I'm sure all the grandmothers out there will know exactly what I mean when all I can do is sigh.

My job at the Pro Shop has been awesome.  I've hosted a few tournaments, I've scored a bit of business for the club on my own, I have a card reader there now...finally I can take plastic instead of cash only.

The girls and I have done a bit of traveling over the summer, in Missouri, we haven't left the state.  We've been to Hermitage to a little family thing, we've been to Osceola for a funeral, we've been to Sturgeon for the 4th of July.  We've gone to the zoo, taken many shopping trips, and a couple of trips to a couple of emergency rooms, but all is well now.

My Young Son is out in the world.  I pray for him every day.

I've been working on some new/old Critters.  Here are a few I haven't listed yet...

Toying with names..."Comic Canine"  

Not sure I care for the circle under the eye, and you can't see it but it has the wrong tail on it...

Floral ???  Flora... I kinda like Flora.

This one is going to be Dream Something I think...

(oh look, someone needs ears *gs*)

If you have any ideas for names, please feel free to share.  

My Son-In-Law is home for a month on leave.  It was almost as if he hadn't been gone, thanks to modern technology, they were able to see each other every day.  It is good to have him here.  

So, I don't want to drag this out...can't catch it all up in one post, right?  

Play Nice!  xxoo

Doing what you like...

Critter wise, I have been lucky to have a few orders, and discovered a new (to me) marketing trick, working on this has been exciting.

Out of all my patterns, I am enjoying making the new horse.  I haven't sold any of them, yet, but I just ordered some real wool felt to put together a few Magical Rainbow Unicorns in the new pattern.  Because making these horses is what I like to do right now.

Palimino Pal

Little Joe

Pegasus

And now some random thoughts:

So, the "ladies" at the golf course planted some flowers last Spring, the Hibiscus I brought inside after the first frost, and it flourished.  I just put it back outside yesterday.  There is some kind of ferny plant in the same pot, and when I went to pull it out the door a prickle from the ferny plant got me.  Now where it got me is itching, and I remember the last time I got one of those prickles in the palm of my hand, it took forever to heal...and until I figured it out, I thought I was going to get a whole buncha moola coming my way, the way my palm was itching!

Two golfers that I am friends with are "at odds" with each other over a card game.  A .25 cent card game.  This makes me very uncomfortable, but it is not up to me to fix it.  They've been friends for years.  A person would think that two grown men could either talk it out or get over it, or duke it out.  I wish they'd do one of those things, just get back to normal (whatever that is)!

I have a date with my sweetheart tonight.  And a couple more hours here before,  Love my job. Really I do.

Later that same day.  

We (Sweetheart & I) went out to dinner, and our food was tasty.  He's watching some basketball game, I am waiting for a load of laundry to dry...such is the life of the goddess that is me, and I like doing what I do.

Play Nice!

xxoo

Learning From Experience

One of my favorite things about being "crafty" is that with every thing I make, I learn more.  For example...I made a sweet little, plain little Dog Critter, simply to experiment with it.  

I've been toying with the idea of using crochet thread all over a Critter, like hair...so I tried it how I saw doing it in my head, here is the result.

A hairy mess!

But here's what I learned...that I need to start from the bottom, and probably in 1/4" increments, that would give me a more uniform "coat of fur" and it will probably lay down a whole lot better.  (If you have any hints in this regard, the Comment section down there would be a great place to leave it.)

My next experiment on this Critter will be to do some hand embroidery on the side that isn't hairy, just to get a feel for it.  

There are three new Critters in my shop today, Grayson, Dempsy, and Speedy Pig.  You really should go take a look.  

I gotta get started making a list of things I need to pack for my trip next week.  It's only one night I'm staying, but I know I'll pack enough for two, just in case.  I'm quite excited to see the Denver Airport for the first time, and besides the later than I'd like start for the drive home, I know it will be a glorious trip.  We are all quite giddy, to say the least.  *gs*

Play Nice!  

xxoo