Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Whimsical Blue Bird and Funky Beanies



So what do you think? I managed to make a whimsical little bird, well he's actually not that little I guess. You have to understand I've always had a hard time making silly and funky things. For some darn reason my stuff always ends up looking more elegant versus fun and/or silly. I've been trying to figure out why that is ... and I really can't explain it. I guess as an artist we all have our own way of making things look a certain way, which ends up being our very own, I guess, signature look? I never gave it much thought until I started making beanies for the beanie festival in Alice Springs. My kid and husband both kept telling me to make something more crazy, outrageous, etc. Well I tried, I tried for 3 yrs but each time I ended up with something just not crazy enough, again my hats turned out looking elegant ... except maybe for this last one I made. I had basically given up on trying something crazy until I started digging into my bags of yarn and found a bag full of metallic yarns my mother-in-law had given me. I just picked a yarn and started crochetting, not trying to think of what the end result would look like. So I kept on going thinking what else I could use to make it more silly, I remembered a huge bag of emu feathers my husband had purchased for me (thanks honey!) he figured some day I would find some use for them ... so I did. As you can see in the photo I used lots of emu feathers on that thing hoping to make it look more silly ... not sure if that really added to make it a more fun/funny beanie but I tried my darnedest.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Happy Birthday Sofie and Mina!


A brand new day is dawning
And as it gets its start,
I want you know I am thinking
Of you with warmth in my heart.

I hope your birthday is special
No one deserves it more than you!
You are such a kindhearted person,
It shows in everything that you do.

So, have a perfect morning
And an even lovelier day...
May happiness surround you
Always.... not just for today!



Tomorrow is August 19th, 13 yrs ago I was more then ready to become a mom at that time. So, I did I had a baby girl and named her Sofie. I had to come up with a name easy to say in English as well as in Flemish so Sofie seemed to be the choice. My due date was suppose to be the end of August but Sofie decided it was time to enter the world 2 weeks before that. One of my best friends, named Mina, her birthday is tomorrow as well so it's real special day for me. We both couldn't believe it when I went into labor on her birthday. I haven't heard from Mina in a couple of months so I hope all is well. She lives in California while I'm all the way in Virginia. Her family lives in India so she might be back in India visiting them. Mina, wherever you are I hope you are having a wonderful birthday. Sofie and I will be thinking of you. Happy Birthday!




Sunday, August 9, 2009

Getting ready for Christmas!



I made these cute soft baby shoes out of a piece of felt I had made a while back. The little rose buds I made using a bit of red felt and the organza ribbon makes them festive you think? They can always change the color of the ribbon if they get tired of the dark red one. I sold them at the market today but if anybody is interested convo me and I'll be happy to make a similar pair.


Monday, August 3, 2009

Fleece Camel Hat

I felted this hat while living in Alice Springs Australia and entered it into the Beanie Festival. It didn't win any prizes but somebody bought it and is hopefully very happy with it. I made it out of sheep's fleece and camel fleece which I got at the Alice Springs Camel Farm. I really loved that hat and wish I had brought back some of that camel fleece. I do miss Alice ...