Felting Time

While Granny Squares are not my favorite thing to crochet, I am excited about felting them into a groovy handbag. It's been a long time since I've felted (or fulled) anything fun. Hats are my favorite thing to felt, but I'll be making mittens, purses, slippers, and more. I think I'll get an electric tea kettle to use down stairs. My water is hot, but it doesn't stay hot enough and I like to add a kettle of hot water to it as it cools down. I was making myself nervous carrying a kettle of boiling water down the stairs.

Crocheting or knitting something and then felting it in hot water is my favorite form of felting.
Wet-felting is fun, but I tend to make a huge mess! Needlefelting is something I'd like to do more of. I've never been "artistic" in the drawing or painting sense, but needle felting seemed to coax the creativity right out of me. It flowed so easily as I painted with the wool. So, I'll be working with some raw and colorful fibers very soon!

More from the Greatest Sweater Ever

Do you remember these two purses that I made awhile ago? I finally made a Button Cowl or Collar from the collar of the original sweater. I've been wanting to do this for a long time and I finally found some classic vintage sweater buttons to use. I used matching wool to crochet a button hole edging along the one side. I LOVE how this turned out. It is so cool and comfortable, affording lots of different ways to wear it.

AND, I still have the sleeves! I'm thinking of making some mittens, then all I'll have left are scraps for flowers and a fabulous wool belt. I'm just sorry that I didn't take a picture of the entire sweater before I started all these projects.

Time's A-Wastin'

Summer is on the downhill slope now. There's a chill in the mornings and it's starting to get darker earlier. School will be starting in 10 days or so and it's soccer season for the local soccer club.
Sorting through the leftovers from last school year, my son found all his old papers and notebooks and decided to have a "Ceremonial Burning of the Notebooks." Out with the old and in with the new. He's not looking forward to going back to school. My daughter, on the other hand, has her outfit already picked out and is super-excited.
As for me, I'm looking forward to having my quiet time again. Ever since the kids were little, I've loved having them home with me. I suppose it was a separation issue at first, but, since 9/11, I've just been much more at-ease knowing they're safe at home. It will be nice to have my time alone again so that I can get caught up on some things. I've been putting off scrubbing the carpeting. I need to finish painting the kitchen cabinet doors, and gather more stuff for a huge garage sale.
All that aside, my true love of design and fiber arts has me dreaming of Fall Fashions and jotting down notes as to what I can make with my yarn stash. I'm hoping to get started on some jackets and sweater coats and stock up on scarves, hats, and mittens.
But first...that boy needs a haircut!!

A Quiet House

I missed having the house to myself! I love how quiet it can be. It brings back memories of visiting my grandparents. They had a daily routine and, around late-morning, it was wonderfully quiet and peaceful at their house. You could hear the cuckoo clock ticking away. It didn't occur to me then how they enjoyed their peaceful days.


Although, there are times when I blast the stereo too! Lately I've been enjoying listening to a local commercial-free alternative rock station 88.9 WSTB. The kids come home from school and ask if they can turn it down! LOL


So, it doesn't really matter whether I opt for a quiet day or a loud one, I still have been loving my time alone. Back-to-school time allows me to get caught up on projects I've set aside, organize supplies, and plan for the busy Fall/Holiday season.

Here are a few Back-to-School fashions available in my Etsy shop. New designs and lots more to come!