Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Columbines



They really are a gorgeous thing to behold whether in your garden, along a mountain trail or in A Felted Bowl. Plus they are the state flower of Colorado, Now aren't we lucky?
I am also happy to announce that I am now part of Interiordesignteam on Etsy. It is a wide ranging group of artisans and crafters and I am looking forward to working with them. Simply type "interiordesignteam" in the search bar to see the craftiness.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Lil' Red Bird


I love Gillian Welch! I saw her play here in Colorado Springs when I was 7 months pregnant with my son and refused to give up my spot at the very front even though my dogs were swollen and barking. I was a performing folk musician, my husband and a good friend created my beautiful website you should check it out.

I played her song "Winters Come and Gone" often:

Oh little red bird, come to my windowsill
been so lonesome shakin' that mornin' chill
Oh little red bird open your mouth and sing
Been so lonesome just bout' flown away
Honestly, I can't imagine why my little guy likes the guitar so much.
Anyway back to what this post was leading up to~
This dresser bowl was born. I couldn't get the song out of my head and I realized the little red bird needed a home.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

The Cuffs Just Keep Coming



I posted this one yesterday but didn't have time until now to come tell you about it. A lovely Petite Purple Cuff with bright pink polka dots. What isn't to love?

Monday, July 14, 2008

More Cuffs




A couple of lovelies posted today~
I handcrafted the ceramic button on the Gray Cuff.
The Upcycled Cuff is a fun patchwork of sweater pieces I had left over and just knew I would be able to use sooner or later. Note the baby blue cable patch. The Patchwork Cuff is another entry for the Etsyfast July Challenge.

Good Morning!





I have the first part of my Etsyfast July challenge completed! It is all about the destash: getting a hold on all of the supplies etc. that have accumulated and consolidating. I am focusing on my big box o' felted sweaters. I have already made Eli the Elephant and Rufus the Dino but I wanted to branch out and make something wearable. So here are my first cuffs. Little Red is the only one listed so far in my store but here are pictures of the rest. The last picture is of 4 hand-knit and felted cuffs that have been in my queue for sometime as well. The Gray and Blue Cuff is listed with more to come as well.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Hollyhocks~


The Hollyhocks on Pink purse is officially on the market. She is a tall and noble sort with a gentle spirit who enjoys cool breezes and sunny days~*

The Etsyfast July challenge is "Destash" and I am working on a veritable pile of wool cuffs both hand-knit and re-purposed felted sweater. Can't wait to show you the goodies I am creating~

Also, I believe that the Ladybugs have been generally successful. Can't decide if it is a good thing or not that so many were still around this morning. Afraid this is a testament to how badly my garden is/was infested with the nasties.

I suppose I should probably get to bed. A little delirious.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Be free Ladybugs!! ... And some Etsy listings





I seriously spent an hour in my garden watching the ladybugs get busy eating all the nasty bugs. Went and got the flashlight at one point. Sure hope it works, I would really like to eat my Kale.
I also was able to list Two Pouches today and am including pictures of my hollyhock purse that I should be getting up on Etsy tomorrow morning. The buttons are all handmade; the hollyhock by me and the strawberry flowers by my talented Mother-in-law Carol who also has an Etsy shop and I am sure would love to make you custom buttons.

Argh! Bugs!


This summer has been a real test in the garden. So hot and dry you have to water constantly it seems. I tried some new plants in my garden and contrary to what I thought looking at them from a distance they are getting eaten alive! My Kale is gorgeous except for the aphids and my Broccoli has been fighting the good fight against the little black bugs that have decimated my nasturtiums.
So am I just going to sit here and complain and let my hard work go to waste? Heck No! Am I going to spray them down with chemicals and then be afraid to eat them? NO! I went to the local garden center today and bought Ladybugs ~ So there they sit at the moment all 1750 of them in my refrigerator amongst the Sour Cream and OJ awaiting their release into a heavenly feast this evening. In the meantime I am waiting out the heat of today as close to the window air conditioner as I can get with a pile of bowls and 4 newly felted cuffs to be finished. I will be listing some new items in the next couple of days so keep your peepers peeled: there are some really cute things on the way...but that is just my biased opinion.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Treasury

I nabbed an Etsy Treasury today and filled it with Colorado Springs crafters. Please go over and take a look. I got to meet several of these sellers at the craft fair i did a couple of weeks ago.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Wild Wild West




I throughly enjoy that even though our fair city is becoming more cosmopolitan by the year they still have annual events like a cattle drive down Tejon Street in the heart of downtown. Or that on particular longhorn thought it would be a great idea to break away and start running toward us (or maybe it was the crosswalk we were next to). So here are a couple of pictures of how we spent the morning of our 4th of July~

Friday, July 4, 2008

10 miles and a Thunderstorm




It used to be that practically every afternoon in July on the front range of Colorado we get thunderstorms that build over the mountains and then roll out onto the plains. At least that is what I remember. Yesterday the boy went to Grandma's and we headed out early in the AM to do a 10 mile hike up to 10,600 feet into an area that feels far removed from the city except when you happen to pass by the mouth of a canyon and hear a train whistle. So, why did I mention thunderstorms? We had to cut our hike short because we watched a baby cloud blossom into a lightning packed adult cloud that caused us enough worry to jog the last 2 miles out of the canyon. It was worth it sore calves, blisters and all. Here is the hubby and I with Pikes Peak in the background and also a couple of my newest listings on Etsy my Single Shining Star Bowl and one of the choices from my Choose your own Coffee Cuff listing. Thanks for looking!

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Cattails




I love em! You can even make flour out of them and back in college when I was aspiring to be a papermaker and bookbinder I put their wonderful fiber in a batch of paper. So here is another cattail bowl. Doesn't Graham take the most wonderful pictures for me?

On another note: IT IS RAINING HERE!!! Can you tell I am excited? Especially since we haven't had any rain in weeks and the 4th of July is almost here. And my garden, my poor sun beaten garden. Thank you rain clouds for your bounty~

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

A Little Citrus in Your DIet




I knit this fun little bowl up from a single strand of bright orange worsted weight yarn and absolutely love it! I hand-dyed roving with kool-aid to get the lime green and decided this orange bowl needed something simple yet equally bright. I have this vision of someone stuck in a windowless office with this terrific bowl sitting on their desk reminding them of the delicious frosty cocktail they could be sipping on a shady patio come happy hour. I am not stuck in a cubicle but I sure am dreaming of frosty beverages and shade on hot days like this one! In fact I would recommend these Beer Cozies for just such a time!

On another note, the craft sale went relatively well. I have made some terrific new Etsy buddies and will be blogging about them very soon I promise. You can check out your own local Etsy sellers by clicking on the Shop Local button on the main page.
Thanks to Kabibimei for putting the sale together and hosting!