2009 is as good as done. I leave you and this year with some photos of my handmade holiday decor that I’ve entered into the Crafty Chica Deck the Halls contest (logo and link on the right).
And one I didn’t enter but is brand new to our home, the new kitchen shelf.
Happy New Year folks!
Posted in life
I hope everybody had a great Christmas holiday. After the Christmas festivities, I managed to snag a few days to myself (no chores, no comissioned work, no husband, no cat, no anything) and have been soaking up the quiet. I don’t think I’ve been that alone with nothing to do since…well… ever. It’s been nice. But I’m ready to have my husband, my cat, and all my to-do lists back.
But now I’m back in the game and working on a few posts for the start of the New Year. Well, they’re not for the New Year…that just happens to be when I’ll be putting them up. Lots of stuff I’ve been making, new plans, etc, etc.
I’m also preparing for our New Year’s celebrations (i.e. visiting with my family for a belated Christmas) and reflecting on 2009. Quite frankly, just between you, me, and my yarn stash, 2009 can kiss my butt. It had its ups and downs but the downs were so terrible and wretched, it brought everything else down with it. So I am ready for 2009 to be over and done with. For-ev-er (name that movie!).
As you may know, I’m not a resolutions kinda gal. I like to reflect on my accomplishments for the previous year and move forward wanting to try new things and new ideas. Easy. But last year, I did make one “goal” for myself. To keep track of all the books I read for that year. And I did. 45 books in a year. Many more attempted and failed. Not every book is readable.
My favorite book read in 2009? Definitely The Road by Cormac McCarthy. That one jumped straight to the top of my all time favorite books. It is simply amazing.
Worst book I read in 09? Easy. Dirty, Sexy, Knitting by Christie Ridgeway. It’s one of those trashy, romances. Throbbing member and all. But with knitting. But not really. Man it was terrible. And since you probably won’t read it (please, don’t) let me tell you about my least/most favorite part (I can’t decide which it is). The scene where our heroine and hero are tied together and facing death. The scene where the bad guy is about to kill our lovers and squash the romance that has been building (badly) through the whole book. They escape. Because they were tied together with a HAND-KNIT SCARF. And so our heroine was able to find the end and unravel it. Likely because, like many of us, she never bothered to weave in the ends. It’s either the greatest joke about weaving in ends or ….just so bad I can’t think about it.
Watch for the 2010 book list. Pretty sure the first one on it is going to be Tropic of Cancer.
So Goodbye 2009. There was a lot of fun had (mostly thanks to Justin who had some great ideas this year) but I’m sure glad you’re not sticking around.
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Merry Christmas
Happy Holidays
Happy Hannukah
Happy Kwanza
Happy Festivus
Love your family and friends.
Posted in life
Christmas is very nearly here. And I’m not ready.
I still have to finish 2 amigurumis, buy pants for a 3 year old, decide on the best course of action for drugging our cat for transport, pack, bake, etc, etc, etc. I have about 3 days worth of errands and work to do in the next 24 hours.
I have worked my fingers to the bone this Christmas making things. I go to bed tired and I get up tired. In the month of December, I have made
4 amigurumis
18 mustache ornaments
a felt snowman scene (didn’t show that to ya, did I?)
cakes and cakes and more cakes and cookies and cakes
To top all that off, the other night, I accidentally poured a glass of milk directly into my knitting basket…which holds my yarn. That I’m using. On a project that has to be done before Christmas eve. I cried over the spilled milk.
And instead of being plum wore out. Instead of not wanting to make anything at all. Instead of wanting to hide all my yarn and felt far, far away from my eyes. Instead of being cranky and aggrivated and exhausted and anything else I should be feeling, all I can do is look at this wee ornament I knit
all I can do is look at it…and squeal with joy. He’s smaller than the palm of your hand. He’s smaller than a golf ball. He’s smaller than a lot of things and knit with tiny yarn on tiny needles at a tiny gauge and still only takes about an hour and a half to make from start to finish.
Go ahead and make one. It’s good for your soul.
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Available only for the next few days (up to Christmas Eve) is the Klaus Mustache Ornament!
The Klaus is made from white fleece so it feels softer and more plush than my other mustache ornaments. It’s a little more luxurious. As, I’m sure, Santa’s mustache would be.
As with all the other Christmas ornaments in my shop, The Klaus is available with free shipping! Hurry and get one before they’re gone. Klaus won’t be available again until next Christmas.
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We have a fat cat. So fat, his name is Big Guy.
Since Guy came to live with us, we’ve been trying to get his weight down a little. He’s on a healthy food and we feed him a half serving in the morning and a half serving in the evening. According to our vet, it’s what we should be doing to ensure we have a healthy pet.
Unfortunately, Big Guy doesn’t seem to get that this is for his own good. So if the bowl is empty, he just sits there staring at us. So, we started putting his bowl away if it’s empty. We hoped he would learn his feeding times better and wouldn’t beg. Bowl down = food time. No bowl=not food time. Is it working? Well… Justin recently sent me this series of 3 photos he took as he walked around the kitchen.
He doesn’t seem to be getting it….
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I’ve been MIA for a little bit and will continue to be away until after Christmas. Mostly because I am up to my ears in work to do. I’ve been making mustaches every day and shipping them out just as quickly.
The sale in my shop is still going on as well.
A note on shipping: I will be shipping out items up to Christmas eve. So that means from December 24 to December 27 there will be no shipping. The shop will still be open for purchase but remember that I won’t be sending items out until the Monday after Christmas.
I will be back tomorrow with a brand new, limited offer Mustache ornament to show you. I’ve been sketching out a few new ideas and Justin and I are brainstorming on a project we’re going to be revealing after the new year.
But up to the new year, I’m going to be working like mad on commissioned pieces. And gifts. Christmas is almost here! And my niece is going to be getting this adorable Winnie the Pooh Bear ami for her gift.
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This is what it’s been like crafting in my apartment since Wednesday night.
Thanks to a big windstorm on Wednesday, we’ve been without electricity for a couple days now. But the Mustache Christmas ornaments are still selling and I’m still making them! At least, during the daylight hours.
Unfortunately for me, Christmas won’t stop getting closer even though I sent a memo about the whole can’t craft and get things ready with no electricity. The craft round-up this week features more and more Christmas crafting ideas.
This crocheted mouse ornament from Lion Brand is just about the cutest thing I’ve seen all day. And trust me, I’ve been looking for cute.
Justin and I already have stockings we both like but I’m tempted by this pattern at Purl Bee to make new ones.
I’m in love with these ornament topiaries from Better Homes & Gardens.
Remember the homemade marshmallows I posted last week? The idea has been made even more decadent and hard to resist by adding chocolate and peppermint.
A fabric flower brooch would make a great, quick gift for a friend.
And last this week, I had grand plans to make these adorable felt christmas ornaments. But you know…no electricity.
Stay warm folks!
Posted in christmas, craft round-up, life
From now until the New Year begins, nearly everything in my ETSY shop is on sale. All earrings, knitting stitch markers, and the 1 lonely set of hair pins have been marked down. Some by a small percentage and others by more. There will be a Christmas ornament sale after January 1.
I want to clear my shop of all the jewelry and jewelry related items. I started out on ETSY selling these because I wanted to make some extra cash. As sad as it sounds, that was the sole reason. Justin and I needed a little extra income and this seemed like an easy, quick way to go about that. Ok, we didn’t need the extra income but it would be better for me to buy my supplies from money that wasn’t needed for bills. Ok…I wanted yarn money.
At any rate, it worked. I made enough to support my other habits. But it was never what I wanted to do in the long term. I have been searching a long time looking for the right outlet and now I feel like I’m getting closer to knowing what that is.
I have been enormously inspired by the work being done with felt, embroidery, knitting, and crochet all coming together to create artistic expressions. I’ve got lots of ideas for projects that are more about creating something beautiful and less about following somebody else’s ideas (patterns, tutorials, etc). And after the holidays are over, because I am quite booked up on projects until then, that is the direction I am going to go.
I owe a huge thank you to Justin. It was his original idea that our Christmas ornament this year be a mustache that led me down this path of thought. Coupled with my own restless fingers, and the huge amount of inspiration out there in the craft world, I feel like I’m on my way towards something good.
Of course, this goes without saying, that I won’t be giving up on things I already love (you should see the size of my Ravelry queue…it’s outrageous and has its own zipcode). But my own creations are going to be the priority in 2010. And if I feel they’re good enough, they’ll be available for purchase.
In case you’re wondering, the mustaches will still be available after the holidays as well. Reincarnated but still available. In fact, the store is going to be specializing in mustaches and mustache varieties for a bit.
Oh..and don’t forget. Stuff is on sale.
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I make things. Sometimes successfully and sometimes...not. I'm a knitter, a spinner, and an embroidery artist.
If you have any questions, you can email me at wildwoodflwr at gmail.
