Friday, February 29, 2008

Chris and Her Alpacas









I was running a few days behind and then Blogger was acting up on Friday, or was it Tursday? Anyway, Saturday the temperature made it up to 70 degrees so we HAD to go hiking and Sunday it snowed and maybe made it up to 30 degrees but my hubby was on the computer getting much needed homework done. So here I am.
Last Wednesday - back in Good ol' February, Seamus, my Mom and I went to visit our good friend Chris and her Alpacas at Birdsong Ranch. Chris is actually moving and is relocating all of her animals to new homes (she had over 25 Alpacas at one time!). We wanted to visit one more time before she sent the last few on. The One she has in the halter is named Star Girl. The two little boys are Captain Jack Sparrow and Harris Tweed. Alpacas are such amazing and intelligent creatures. Thanks for letting us visit Chris!

Also, Chris commissioned a smaller Forget-Me-Not bowl for a friend. I have posted a couple of pictures of that including a shot of the bottom so you can see my new labels. I ordered them from Sugar Plum Baby on Etsy. She was marvelous to work with and the labels are absolutely gorgeous!

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Book meme

I have been tagged for a Book meme by Shannon or at The Cole Mine.
I have a stack of books that I have started: Cash by Johnny Cash, Hardcore Troubadour: The Life and Near Death of Steve Earle by Lauren St. John and Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris. But this is the one that is closest and that I have been trying to read each night so here goes ~

Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more (no cheating)
Craft Inc. by Meg Mateo Ilasco. I am really trying turn my "business" Into a BUSINESS. I have read good reviews about this book, but so far- which isn't very far- it is reiterating what I already know.

Find Page 123
This page is about trade shows and being a successful vendor.

Find the first 5 sentences
This is about the benefit of positive feedback on your goods and the goal of getting orders

Post the next 3 sentences
It is unbelieveably unprofessional to call your buyer to ask them to resend an order. And don't be overzealous taking any order that comes in - be selective about who carries your products. Remember to be realistic about the lead time and the quantities you promise.
_______________________________________________
I suppose this book does get a bit more down and dirty with the business stuff. I don't envision myself doing trade shows anytime soon, but who knows~*

I am not going to tag 5 people because I will end up sending them to people who have already done it. Feel free to do this meme though drop me a note if you do so I can come look!



Saturday, February 23, 2008

The Pair of Fat Little Birdies Revealed



I am a grateful gal. My Husband went on an adventure today with the lil' guy and I stayed home to knock out some projects and run errands. I have a bunch of needle-felting to do and did manage to finish the Fat Little Birdies bowl and post it on Etsy. Thanks for the suggestions again!
One of my Coffee Cuffs has also been included in a Treasury of Etsy Mile High Club members.
Lots of treasury love in the last few days~ Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

Friday, February 22, 2008

Etsy Treasury Love

That's right. I have been included in an Etsy Treasury. Check it out~ I am not going to linger on the computer today. I have promised myself that I will get oodles of needle-felting projects done.
I have decided to go with Chelsea's idea for my chocolate brown bowl: "a pair of fat little birdies"
Will you e-mail me your address so I can send out your special surprise?
Shannon had some great ideas as well! I think coffee (or tea) cups will probably start showing up on my bowls too:-)

Thursday, February 21, 2008

My New Hat



I don't know if I have mentioned how much I love Alpaca fiber but I do.
I misplaced my favorite winter hat last week and decided that I would use some of the lovely Alpaca yarn I have been hoarding to whip up a new beanie. The first attempt yielded a hat that is ginormous on me but my hubby loved it and and he does look awfully cute and cozy in it. So I drastically downsized my pattern and gave it another try: My head is cold after all! I bought this yarn straight from Phantom Canyon Alpacas in Florence, CO. Is there anything more exciting then knowing the who and where of your fiber? Thank you Honey for your wonderfully soft fiber. I may never take this hat off!

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

good news

My neighbors are fabulous people! Thanks for the coffee Graham! And I am happy to report that my Boy's fever is down:-) and I am on coffee cozy #2 of the day. Knit, knit, knit~

Sick again

The boy has a fever AGAIN. He is eating though and talking up a storm so I think he is fighting the good fight. It looks like I might get a bunch of knitting done today while watching Sesame Street with my little couch bound buddy. The worst part of this day is that I am out of coffee! Maybe this is a good time to start getting my addiction in check.
And lastly, it is my wonderful hubby's birthday~ One of the things I got him is this little number from the wonderful Etsy seller BlackLilyPie.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Brown Bowl Dilemma



I have been reading other people's blogs lately more than I have been writing in my own. There hasn't been a whole lot to say or to show. This is a really slow time for me and I had to give myself a kick in the pants this weekend to get back up on that old horse and find the motivation. I had a felting wash go awry: my bowls came out in some really wonky shapes and no amount of prodding could get them to where they are supposed to be. A few did come out nicely though. One is this gorgeous chocolate brown number (It is consistent in color, the rim just looks lighter due to the flash) What would you like to see needle-felted in this beaut of a bowl? I have a fun little something something that I would love to send out to the best idea. Hit me with your best shot!

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Take a Look

Kristen over at GreenStyleMom is giving away a set of Sigg Water bottles! You can sign up through the 20th! So get on over there, check out her fabulous blog and sign on up.... I probably shouldn't tell you because I would love to win them. They are so pretty and so much better for you than plastic.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Progress is Relative

I am happy to report that I ran a felting wash yesterday that included a grand total of 7 bowls, 2 ring bowls and a coffee cozy. That is a lot of surface area for needle-felting. Unfortunately the camera is in my husbands car so I can't show you right now.
In the meantime, I am continuing to work on my ever so patient Mom's birthday present (her birthday was before Christmas) She asked for a wall-hanging with Cattails for her new office...which used to be my bedroom. No going back now I suppose. I bought some wonderful handmade felt on-line and am so happy with it I would like to do more hangings. Thanks Mom! My parents continue to me my biggest supporters in whatever creative endeavor I am going for.
On that note, it is time to go give my greatest creative endeavor some attention. He is ripping around the living room and laughing hysterically... that can't be good!
Thanks for checking in!

Oh I fogot! I just added a Bloglines button! Now you can really keep tabs on me ~*~

Monday, February 11, 2008

Great Knitting Sites


So I have been promising my newbie knitting friends a list of some of my favorite knitting websites and newsletters.
Webs - name brand yarns, lots of closeouts and sales
Knitpicks -good yarn great prices. They actually have some alpaca yarns.

Patterns etc:
Knitty
Magknits
Daily Knitter & Crocheter Kristen~ They have an extensive archive of crochet patterns and I bet they have some food in there :-)
(All of these you can sign up for e-mail updates)


Knitting Daily is the on-line newsletter for Interweave Knits Magazine which I have a subscription to drool over every time it comes in the mail.

and last but not least there is Raverly it is in Beta testing right now so they are only letting a limited # of people in at a time but it is so neat. You can keep track of your yarn and needles, projects and best of all people post the most delicious patterns. You can get on the list.

These are some of the big ones. I know there are some wonderful sites out there that I haven't even tapped. Please feel free to drop a comment and tell me what I am missing out on!

Also, I did finally finish my Fibonacci striped bag click on the link to see the Etsy listing. Carol made some fantastic buttons for me to finish this cute purse. Thanks!

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Ah Wind

Not much to say today. I worked for my dad who is recovering from rotator cuff surgery. He is a Land Surveyor. As his assistant I pound nails and stakes into the ground for him so that the buildings get built where they are supposed to and the curbs have enough angle so the water doesn't pool when it rains. Unfortunately, where we were in East Denver today the frost was deep and the wind was bitter. My arm is really sore and tomorrow I go back for more. I do get lots of knitting done on the drive though. I have a bunch of bowls that are ready to meet my washing machine- tomorrow afternoon at the earliest. There are some great colors in there that I am excited to expand my garden into so keep your eyes out for them ~*
In the meantime a fellow Etsyfast member, Merigreenleaf put together a lovely treasury of flowery fiber goodness and she put my Columbine bowl right in there. Thanks Meri!

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Columbines



One of my favorite things about hiking in the summers here would be the wildflowers. Is there anything more quintessentially Colorado then the Columbine? I can see in my minds eye several occasions rounding the bend in the trail to see a perfect Columbine flower in a patch of sunlight. My next few needle-felting projects are going to focus on local flora and here is the first in the series. I have it listed on Etsy. I have increased the prices on some of my bowls due to the level of detail that goes into these designs. I use a single felting needle as of now so I have better control of my fiber.

Monday, February 4, 2008

That time of year

Just checking in to say that I got very little done this weekend. My son was sick and unfortunately it was the kind where I was having to use the washing machine for laundry instead of felting. Who ever heard of such a thing, right? I did get a Treasury on Etsy this morning. We found fox prints in the snow in our driveway yesterday so I thought I would put together a collection of my favorite foxes. So this week is a bit of a catch-up week. Hopefully i will have lots more projects to share with you soon.
Cheers

Saturday, February 2, 2008

More Anemones Please



I have repeated here what I wrote in the description for this bowl in my Etsy Listing:
"Dare I say that this is my favorite felted bowl thus-far?
I spend a great deal of time searching through my gardening and flower identification books for inspiration. I couldn't decide what to needle-felt in this beautiful violet heather bowl until I came upon the Japanese Anemone Flower and I fell in love!"
I feel like my craft is becoming more refined with each needle-felting project that I do. I am giddy with excitement and don't want to put my felting needle down now. I am in love with fiber. (Don't tell my husband...oh wait, he knows.)