Rainy Tuesday

This morning my first alarm went off at 7:00.  It was raining outside so that gave me a chance to sleep another hour.  I can usually get some pretty good sleep at that time.  It feels like I am semi-awake all night in my dreams, so I rarely feel like I get a full night's sleep.  That one hour is important.

Sweetheart usually wakes up a little before 7....I hear him up and moving around.  That wakes up the Chihuahua, who gets put on the floor to go do her duty outside.  I'm still snuggling in waiting for the dozies to catch up to me...

Today, it was time to get Young Son's newly purchased used vehicle to the mechanic shop to see what needed to be done to pass inspection.  This included charging the battery of his vehicle to be able to drive it to the shop.  Which took precisely 7 door slams from 7 to 7:45, when I realized the dozies were gone for this day.

7 door slams.  After I made a somewhat dramatic effort to explain to him last Sunday morning how to close a door rather than slamming it.

I stitched the Dragon for my friend today, got caught up in a bunch of real life stuff tonight, not stuffed yet.

Probably going to bed pretty soon.

My hands look so old.

I miss my girls so much.

My mom and dad worked in this building.  

I love it, one of my favorites downtown.

Play Nice!  xxoo

This is me with long hair.

I made that jacket, it had racing pigs on it.  

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

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

Un-Puny

Feeling much better today...you know, sometimes I think I just need to take a couple of days to just be.  Hang out in bed, nap a bit here and there...and not work on anything.

Unfortunately, the view from my bed was pretty bad.  I have a roll top desk, and it is a mess of paperwork, felt, thread, newspaper clippings, etc.  The top of it is covered with finished Critters, and Works in Process.  Tonight when I get home, that is my project.  It won't take long, of course, it's just a matter of putting things where they belong.

Next stop will be my sewing room.  I have got to come up with a good storage system for my felt, and scraps of felt.  And buttons, and shipping/packaging supplies, yarn, etc.

...and I have pics to take and descriptions to write and listings to list, and a ding dang fish tank to clean...and...my daughter and family will be here in about 3 weeks!

All those "ands!"  Seems pretty clear to me that I've been lacking in my ability to put things away.  At Christmas I was legitimately busy with custom orders (thank goodness), but now...well, I have no excuse.

So, when you think of me this evening, you can envision me walking back and forth across the hall from my bedroom to my sewing room, or standing at my work table sorting felt, or draining the fish tank so I can give it a good scrubbing...those are my goals for this weekend, and I will accomplish them all.

But...while I'm at work, I will proceed to stitch up a Valentine Critter.  :)

Play Nice
xxoo

New Year - Re-Connections

I would like to introduce y'all to a goof/good friend of mine, Jeri.  We have been cyber-friends since 2004, when Xanga was it, at least in our corner of cyberville.

We never really lost our connection, we both just got busy with the "kids are almost grown ups but not quite and need us more right now than ever," phase.

So, be a pal, go say hey.  She used to be quite a crafter in her day, maybe we could get her creative juices flowing again?

Play Nice!
xxoo

Are you ready for Christmas?

We didn't put up a tree this year.  I decorated the Pro-Shop more than here, and I did that by hanging one ornament and one string of green tinsel.  It does look awesome, didn't think to take a picture of it...I will before I take it down on Wednesday.

Darlin' Danielle and Delightful Delilah (and Ben, of course) were here the beginning of December for D's 1st birthday party!  We had a house full, and everyone had a good time...

My mind has mainly been on my Critters these last few weeks.  I've made I think 5 purple unicorns, 3 pink unicorns, a set of The Three Little Pigs (with the Big Bad Wolf), The Three Bears and Goldilocks (Goldilocks is pretty bizarre looking, but the set was for a little boy, so the doll isn't that important.)  A kitten, a lizard, a few flying pigs, a purple giraffe...and there may be a few more in the mix that I don't remember right off the top of my head...my hands have been busy!

I've been experimenting with some merino wool, and I really, really like it.  I have a whole lot of craft store felt to use up before I can go that way exclusively.

I've added a few Critters to my line.  One I am really excited about is the Little Dog Critter.  I have a few of them stitched up, each and every one of them turns out just a little bit differently.  The Ritzy Dog is new, I'm loving that one, too.

I've been using yarn and crochet thread as manes and tails for some of them.  I really like the haphazard look of it.  I have to admit, though, I'm nervous about cutting it too short, 'cos y'know, it can't be un-cut.

I'll wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  I have high hopes for the future, starting right now!

Play Nice!
xxoo