A new puppy under the Christmas tree

It's that time of year when people want to get that perfect gift for the family...

they think, "what's better than a cute new puppy under a Christmas tree?! "
So just a quick reminder when considering adding a puppy to the family....

If you get a new puppy this year please, please, please get it from anywhere but a petstore.....better yet, get a leash, a bowl, a ball and a bag of dog food as a gift under the tree and take the whole family to the shelter to pick out their new pet family member together.

Happy holidays from all my critters to yours!

Instant Gratification

I have noticed that lately I have had a very short attention span with my craft projects....Every project I have started is something that must be finished in a week or I don't want to make it, the socks (which I still can't finish because of my dang wrist-but I am determined this weekend), doggy sweaters, the booties, etc. It's like my instant gratification need has been turned WAY UP!

That must be why I am so enjoying felting! I think of a project while I am at work, go home and grab some fiber and dish soap and create!

So, yesterday I decided I wanted to make a clutch purse...so I did! In one evening! I meant to take pictures during the making of this but I just got so into the rubbing and felting that I completely forgot about taking the step by step pictures.

I am REALLY digging this felting!!! How great is it to think of something and create it and have a finished project in a matter of a couple hours?!

Being the overly multi-tasking girl that I am, while I worked on the above purse I also dyed a variety of solid color fibers so I could try my hand at some design in the felt....maybe a flower here and there or some loopy spirals or something. Who knows what I will make tonight!!!

More booties

OK, so those other booties were sooooooo fun to make and so cute (would be even cuter with embellishments) I had to make more.
Off to the fabric store to get a few supplies. Now, you should know that I do not allow myself to go into a fabric store unless I really really really need something...admittedly, I have very little willpower around craft supplies! That said, I am very proud of myself for leaving with only 6" of this floral fabric and one other fabric, the ric rac, the fabric glue, and a 1/2 yard of wool felt (with my 40% off coupon). So disregarding the fact that I have absolutely no need for baby booties, I left there with only things I 'needed'. :P
I pulled out the dusty sewing machine (the poor thing probably thought I forgot it even existed) and threaded it up!
These buggers were not nearly as easy as I imagined they would be to make...turns out little bitty things are quite difficult to work with...but all in all I think they are pretty cute :)

Baby booties

So I didn't get the socks done. Mainly because, after so much sock knitting, I found that I have a very uncomfortably sharp pain in my right wrist. Not sure what's going on there, but I figure if I leave it alone for a bit it will go away.
Instead of knitting, I tried felting. It was SO MUCH FUN!!!! I started off with some CVM fiber-just plain fiber. Then layered it. Added hot water and soap and rubbed the heck out of it and when I thought I was done I rubbed some more. I should have taken pictures along the way, but I really had no idea what I was doing.
It created this super soft (CVM is GREAT stuff) sheet of felt. Then I cut out a booty pattern (don't get excited moms and moms-in-law, I did a booty because it was a good, small first project...no other reason. sorry :P) and hand stitched it together as well as around the edges in a pink thread.
They turned out so darn cute I can't wait to do more!!!! Now, inspired by felt I have been searching for great books with great ideas for inspiration for more projects, but have come up very short....there just isn't much out there on the subject. I found this book available only in the UKwhich looks great-I ordered it and paid a pretty penny for the shipping but it looks as though it will be worth it!

Sock and Bunny happy

OK, so I think I have gotten a little bunny and sock happy because I have added another pair of each to my collection :)
Yep, I adopted 2 more angora bunnies, bringing me to a grand total of 5 bun-buns! Let me introduce you to Daisy and Daphney. They are absolutely the sweetest things! All the buns are a lot of work, but oh-so-sweet!!!!! The addition of the 2 little girls has caused quite a stir among Piper, Pearin, and Penelope. Penelope has decided she is queen of the pen and has become quite bossy. Since the cages have yet to arrive, I have seperated Daisy and Daphney into their own pen, Piper and Pearin in their own pen and Penelope has a pen all to herself. These are spread throughout the entire kitchen and divided by baby gates and collapseable fences...it's working for now, but they will be much happier when they each have their own little condos :)

And here is a picture of the last pair of Duet Sock Yarn socks. I LOVE THEM!!! 6 days ago I cast on another pair using the Zowy Colorway....they are just waiting for their after-thought heel and they will be done! Photos by the end of the week I think :) These are the coziest socks ever...and what fun to make :)

So I do believe I have gone bunny and sock crazy...hopefully the sock count will soon out number the bunny count :)

PS. Next month is Pearin, Penelope and Piper's second shearing and the first time their fleeces will be prime useable fibers! I can't wait!!!!